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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30050646">Aidoneus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katofightclub/pseuds/Katofightclub'>Katofightclub</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Origin stories of the Greek Gods [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Asphodel - Freeform, Dead Achilles, Dead Patroclus, Elysium, F/M, House of Hades, Implied Sexual Content, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore), M/M, Mount Olympus (Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore), Non-Canon Relationship, Not Canon Compliant, Origin Story, Persephone Goes Willingly With Hades (Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore), Post-War, References to Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore, Romance, Tartarus, The great titan war, War, hades and prometheus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:48:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,813</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30050646</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katofightclub/pseuds/Katofightclub</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Aidoneus, son of Titans Kronos and Rhea has finally been freed from his father’s stomach. There, in the depths, all he knew was the darkness. Now that he has been freed, and the war against Titans won, will be become the King of the Underworld? Or will he fall to darkness once again.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Achilles/Patroclus of Opus (Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore), Hades/Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore), Hera/Zeus (Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore), Metis/Zeus (Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore), hades/Prometheus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Origin stories of the Greek Gods [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210691</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was dark. The kind of darkness that feels empty, while being so suffocating and deafening. I had no idea if I was truly alone. There were times where I thought that I heard someone breathing over my shoulder. Those times when I would look over to prove what I heard, it would be gone. There would even be times when I thought that the shuffling of my own feet belonged to someone else. It’s so unnerving to think back to that time of darkness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There is this one memory I hold closely to my chest. A small fracture found itself in that darkness, and bathed me with something so unfamiliar that it burned my skin. It was hot, boiling even, but I did not scream. I reached out my hand toward that light, despite the boils on my skin. And just like that, a few feet away, the fracture closed just as quickly as it opened. Had I even moved when I reached out? I still have no idea of how far I made it before the light disappeared, as if being eaten alive by the thing it was meant to consume in the end. The boils and burns went with it, and In the moment I convinced myself that it was all an illusion of the darkness. Now, though, as I look at my arms I sometimes find small red marks. I tell myself that they were proof that I saw the light--once, but I’ll never know if that is true. It’s something that I hold onto though, in times when I can feel the darkness lingering underneath my skin; it’s the thing that keeps me holding onto the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I suppose that in the darkness I felt solace at times. When I would look over my shoulder because of the faint breathing, it would be there to let me down easily. I might have spoken to the darkness as if it was a friend of mine in my youth, I find myself doing it still at times. I’ll look over my shoulder because of a small sound, and there the darkness will be. I wonder at times if I drew so much power from it, if the darkness became my body and all things attached to it. Over time I’ve learned that the darkness has been here since Chaos, just as light has. The Gods that find themselves in my domain from up above say it to me themselves when I finally leave the depths of my chambers. They’re bathed in the light, with dark skin to tell of their travels. They always ask me if I’m well, if I’d like to take a trip with them to the world with the sun--and every time I tell them, no.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When my mother recounted the devastating births of her children, I couldn’t stop having nightmares. My body would become paralyzed with fear every time. She used to say that the same would happen to her, until one day, when her mother told her of a small island. Word had just come that she was pregnant with my youngest brother, Zeus. Up until him, we had all been more powerful than the Titans before us. We radiated with the thing our father feared the most. As our mother told us this tale, the memories I had of my time in the darkness finally began to make sense. I hadn’t even been given the chance to see the light of day before I was swallowed and sent down into that pit of thick, black, torture. <br/>	Zeus though, he was able to avoid it. Our mother heard Gaea’s cries, and gave birth to him on this island. She entrusted the nymphs and satyrs with caring for him while she wrapped a small rock in a cloth. This was her last chance. She entered our father’s domain with this wrapped up rock in her arms, and he ate it--falling easily for her tricks. Kronos had no idea that the child he ate was nothing more than a piece of earth.<br/>	Zeus grew into the spitting image of our mother. There was no sign of black strands of hair from our father, or a gleam in his eyes that hid a deeper secret. His honey colored hair grazed his broad shoulders, and fell just above his blue eyes. He radiated power just like us all, but it was more divine. Our mother devised yet one more plan, and told her son in the comforts of that island. Kronos needed a cupbearer, another Titan that he could rule over, and so Zeus did just that. He grew in size, and willed his hair and skin to grow darker. His eyes, once shining a brilliant blue, were now a deep brown. He appeared just as our mother had wanted. His divine power dwindled, hidden underneath his appearance. <br/>	He walked to Kronos, just as he had for days, waiting for a chance for our father to finally take the drink he bestowed upon him. A golden goblet filled to the brim with nectar, and blessed thistle. Just one sip--and our mother said that he would have no choice but to free us as the drugged wine made his stomach churn. The day finally arrived, and Kronos reached down to take the drink from the Titan. One sip, that is all it took, just as she told Zeus. Kronos lurched forward with such force that my siblings and I were thrown into the center of the throne room. I remember the feeling of being burned, just as I had been when the fracture shone light into the darkness of his stomach. I looked down at my hands, hands that I thought were as small as a child's, had grown. I had grown. My eyes wouldn’t stop moving. I had so much to take in--the burning sensation in my arms and legs, the faces of Gods and Goddesses that I did not recognize; and my father who sat back in his throne. He breathed heavily with exhaustion weighing him down. Zeus did not falter as our father had. He stood up, proud, with those broad shoulders and hair that suddenly shone golden in the sunlight and said the words that I will never forget, “Kronos, Lord of time, King of the Cosmos, we shall fight at dawn.”</p>
<p>	I remember walking behind Zeus after those words were said, and feeling so small compared to him. He dressed us all in fabrics that felt too foreign. He explained to us that this is how everyone dressed in Crete, the island where he was raised. “The nymphs cannot stand indecency.” He explained. Gold bands lined his arms and his waist, “they love adorning people other than themselves.” Zeus had let out a chuckle as if this conversation did not follow what it had. As if there were no Titan on the top of Mount. Othrys, seething. Goosebumps lined my skin. Had it not been for Zeus, I wouldn’t have known what those were. <br/>	Atop a mountain, one that resembled Othrys, is where we all gathered with our mother. This is where she explained everything. Who we were, and what we are. Why Kronos feared us so. The prophecy that he was fed by his own father had not been wrong--we would usurp our father as he did his own. Our mother told us that his blood would be spilled by the six of us. Zeus knew of the world, and thus, would lead the attack. The oldest sisters, Hestia; Demeter; and Hera; would follow close behind him. Our mother glanced at my brother and I, the only ones left, and said that he would follow closely behind Zeus. Poseidon she said his name was. And as if in passing, she mentioned one last name. The name of someone who learned to appreciate the comforts of the darkness instead of denying its existence: Aidoneus.</p>
<p>	While Zeus most resembled our mother, the rest of us were an array of both our mother and father. Poseidon had those same broad shoulders that Zeus seemed to own--with hair much longer and darker than his. Poseidon’s eyes were not a brilliant blue, but a much more muted sea green. Sometimes they’d be an emerald color in certain lights, and a turquoise in others. Hestia was not blessed with the golden, honey colored hair that Zeus and our mother had, but she still radiated just as much beauty. Her hair curled just above the shoulders effortlessly, and her body fit the same shape. Demeter was shorter than the rest of us, with arms that were constantly working. She always wore her cinnamon colored hair in a braid, claiming that it was easier to work that way. Hera, however, did not mind when her hair was let down. It grew so long that it reached her ankles. The long strands were as dark as our fathers’, but that did not deter her, she embraced it. She had eyes of a trickster--blue for one second, and brown the next. But I was not blessed with these attributes. My skin was much lighter than theirs, and my hair was the darkest. My shoulders were not broad, and I was not extraordinarily tall. I was there, and stayed that way until a time that I’d rather not recall.</p>
<p>	Dawn approached quickly. Almost as if Kronos was willing time to dwindle to lower our chances of success. The night before I remember so clearly looking up at the sky that our mother said belonged to our grandfather. She told me that he was killed by the scythe that Kronos never parts with. “Your father will never allow the weapon to leave his side. I’m afraid that he will use it to kill you all just as he had his father.” The moon danced upon her features that night, as if she were the Goddess of the moon. Alas, she was a Titan, the Titan of motherhood. “Our father will not get in hits, mother. I will be sure of this. I have devised a plan, one that I hope you will approve of.” Zeus had spoken up, all of our attention bouncing off of him and his golden skin. Not even in the moonlight did it look as flushed as mine had.<br/>	The youngest of us all, who grew up in a world with nymphs and satyrs had been told stories of the Cyclops and Hundred-Handed ones from down below. He had grown up with hunters that Gaea created from the blood of Ouranos. Zeus as it seemed had known it all in those short moments. “Brothers,” his eyes pierced mine, and Poseidon's. “The three of us will travel down below to free our brothers and sisters. They will forge us the most magnificent weapons--Kronos will stand no chance against our might.” There was nothing said after that. Poseidon and I had exchanged glances, and stood to leave. My legs still felt weak, as if I hadn’t used them in my time of solitude at all. “Bring back something for me, too.” A voice spoke up, Hera. She pulled a strand of black hair from her face to show off those eyes that couldn’t seem to pick a color. “What kind of weapon would a fair lady want?” Zeus asked with a kindness in his tone.<br/>	“One that will pierce all of the foes who come across it.”<br/>	“Consider it done, Hera.”</p>
<p>	We left minutes after. That time passed us like seconds, but we persisted onward. From below our mountain stood caves twice our size, with rocks that could pierce even the toughest armor. “Mother says that this is where we will find Tartarus.” Zeus had said those words with such conviction that I could do nothing but believe him. “Brother,” Poseidon matched his pace with ease. I found it hard to match half of what they walked. Soon enough they were out of sight. I could feel those goosebumps that Zeus had described to me once again. The light from the outside world depleted, leaving me in that ever familiar dark. The soles of my feet grew warmer as I walked, and droplets fell from my brow. As they fell, a small sound would resonate in the silence. It was during this walk that I had grazed the edge of a rock, but all that I could feel was a small prick. There was no jutting pain, no golden ichor. Zeus had said on our descent down that our blood was as golden as the light that radiated off of him--and now I had no choice but to believe his words. If I had blood like gold, then nothing would pierce it. <br/>	I wondered how long it had been that the three of us were walking. Unless it was just me, had I walked a little faster than maybe I could’ve walked with my brothers. They were far ahead, so far ahead that I could no longer hear a semblance of their talking. It was just me, and my thoughts. Would the darkness consume me once again, would it eat me whole? In the few hours that I had been freed from my fathers stomach, I had not shown much promise. I was not Zeus. An entire generation of Titans had passed by while I stayed trapped. A part of me hoped in the back of my mind that I was more than him--in some way. If I could find the thing that made me glow with that divine power, then I could prove to everyone that I was more than weak bones and slow movements. Another rock grazing against my ankle drew me from my thoughts; and there at the corner of my vision, stood my brothers. </p>
<p>	Tartarus was but a small hole in the ground that they could not fit into. Zeus tried to make it bigger with the muscles that grew in his arms over the years, but it did not budge. Poseidon tried to do the same, yet nothing changed. Both of their eyes found mine. “Aidoneus, your shoulders are smaller than ours. Perhaps you can find a way for us to enter Tartarus.” I gazed down at that hole, and gulped. All I wanted to do was turn back, and run. Run as far as my aching feet would take me--to the moon, maybe. The moon could embrace me in her cold touch. But that was all a fantasy, something to take me away from the opportunity at my feet. “I..I will find a way for you both to enter.” I said, and they both smiled. A wave of relief washed over me in that moment. They were relying on me for something that I thought was a weakness. I crawled down into the hole with ease, and suddenly, my feet were no longer touching the ground.<br/>	The fall came like a wave. I hadn’t realized how far the plunge was until the ground finally hit my back. I remember letting out a cry of pain in that moment, with no word from either brother. I could’ve been too far for them to hear, or maybe they thought it was a battle cry of some kind. To this day, I do not know. I pulled myself up after the pain subsided and stumbled to my feet. I had to keep reminding myself that I was still intact--that the ichor inside of me was just like gold. It would keep me tied together, even from a fall such as that.<br/>	As I rose from the fall, my eyes fell upon a rusted over shackle. How had I not noticed it before? My eyes trailed the iron and there, at the end, was what was described to me as a Cyclops. It’s single eye was swollen shut, and its beige body seemed to crumble over itself in its motionless state. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. What if when I spoke, I angered it? If that fate would befall onto me, then my brothers and I would be without a way to defeat our father and his army. I could feel a lump in my throat begin to form as I turned on my foot, and walked away.</p>
<p>	Everywhere I walked, my bare feet would come across more rusted over shackles. The Titans did not come first, their siblings in the form of Cyclops' did. If I was not eaten by Kronos, would Rhea have found me as revolting as Ouranos did the Cyclops? Perhaps Kronos eating all of us but Zeus was the world's way of spelling it out as clear as day. We were not his equal, and never would be. Even if I found a gate to Tartarus, that small triumph would be outshone by his freeing of the Cyclops’ and Hundred-Handed ones. <br/>There was a quiet snap behind me. “You..” A weak finger pointed at me, or at something that my back faced. “You are differen..” The Hundred-Handed one lifted it’s fingers one by one, towards a small but hidden enclave. “I can try to free you,” I urged, but even I knew that my hands could not rip apart the iron. I suppose the words flowed out because of its helpfulness, because even in its damaged and fatigued state it still reached a hand out. “Go.” Is all it said, and I left.<br/>	The enclave became wider, and taller. The black rocks that at times appeared navy blue as I walked pointed in the direction just as the Hundred-Handed one did. My feet came to a slow halt as the gateway became clearer in the darkness. I traced my hand along the carved stone. It was cold, and it stung as I felt it’s grooves and punctures. I could not free the Cyclops’ and Hundred-Handed ones, but Zeus and Poseidon could. I pressed on the door with all of the body weight I could muster, and it creaked open. Dust fell onto my cheeks and forehead, mixing in with the sweat that already formed there. As the door opened, my chest heaved. If I were truly made of gold, would I feel this tired? Unless I was made from something else. From that thing in the back of my mind that stayed ever present. From the darkness down the cave, as if they heard my labored breaths, Zeus and Poseidon emerged. “Brother, we are proud of you.” Zeus smiled at me as he passed. Poseidon did the same. And I stood by, and watched as they took the iron rusted chains in their bare hands--and tore them apart.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Within a night, the weapons were forged. Zeus returned to the surface with our grandmother’s children and in their cheering of gratitude, he asked for these weapons. They offered them and more. The Cyclops and Hundred-Handed Ones would fight alongside us they said--until their last breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before dawn, Zeus’ weapon was the first to be pulled from the heart of our mountain. A pure lightning bolt that seemed to gather unborn storms to it’s beck and call. I had seen it in his eyes in that moment--the wiring electricity. As the lightning bolt touched the palm of his hand he grinned. He held it in the air, and the sky responded in kind. A strike of blinding white light hit the bolt and his body. As if his bones and skin were a part of the sky itself, he began to glow. His eyes were no longer a brilliant blue--but a white as vivid as the moon herself. From a small creek in the mountain side the Cyclops’ pulled a three pronged weapon. It was as golden as the ichor boiling inside of us all. Blue sapphires and zircons ran through it like a tidal wave. The encrusted weapon was entrusted to Poseidon. When it touched his finger for the first time, it was as if he willed the rain to pelt down on our skin. Just as quickly as he willed it, the rain stopped falling. His eyes did not glow as Zeus’ did, but he held the weapon with his two hands and finally named it: The Trident.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the Cyclops finally turned to me, they did not turn to the heart of the mountain, or a small creek. They began descending down the mountain, and I followed. I could feel the ichor in my hands become warmer as he continued downward. We were so far away, that the tip of the mountain felt like nothing but a dream. “The Hundred-Handed ones have spoken,” The Cyclops said as we walked to the cave from hours before. My feet knew the way inside, they pulled my body forward. “You were not afraid to venture into the unknown.” The Cyclops pushed on the gate as if it were nothing. When he finally passed it’s weight onto me, I almost faltered. I dug my feet into the dirt and let it close slowly behind. “My brothers could not fit--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That may be true, but even if they could, you would have been the one to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His words felt so true that I did not bother with arguing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you taking me?” I asked as we walked further than I had ever gone on my own. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To the heart of this place.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tartarus felt endless. No matter how long we walked, it seemed to never come to an end. The heart, as the cyclops put it, was nowhere in sight. We walked the paths, and I began to pick out small crystals that stuck up from the ground. I assigned names that flowed into my mind: diamond; emerald; copper, the list went on. “We are here,” he finally said. I tore my attention away from a red crystal that I had named: ruby. The heart of Tartarus was but a small opening in the realm. A pool of black water stood at the center of it. “This is no weapon, this will be a means to win the war.” He said. I wanted to say that I could do no such thing. I was no warrior. The cyclops let his hands drop into the water, and within seconds, he began pulling back. I wished to see a weapon like my brothers’. A lightning bolt of pure divine power, or a trident that could call upon the water. Instead of these, the cyclops revealed an iron helm. He pushed it into my hands. I expected it to be dripping with the blackened water, but it was completely dry. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span>, this helm of darkness will be the key to the Gods’ victory.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I fumbled the helmet in my hands, taking in the smooth feeling of the iron against my skin. I braced it, and in one movement, I pushed it over my head. I did not know what to expect. There was no rush of lightning or water, or any power at all. I felt like laughing--or even smiling in that maniacal way that Zeus did. This Helm of Darkness was the key to winning the war? It was laughable--I was laughable. Though the cyclops did not seem to think that way. It could have been his pride. He willed the mountain to give him this helm. But his eyes looked unfocused, as if he did not know where to look to be congratulated. “This will not win the war, Cyclops.” I said with a voice I hoped sounded strong. There was no answer. “Cyclops?” Again, no answer. I braced my hands against the helmet and pulled it off. Strands of hair fell in front of my eyes as his eyes focused on me again. “Just as I had hoped.” He said. “This will grant you complete invisibility.” I turned the cap around in my hands. It did nothing but stare at me with the opening for my facial features. Two for the eyes, and through those, it connected to an opening for my mouth. Around the edges of the opening were etchings that I did not understand, waves and swirls that danced against the metal with no rhyme or rhythm. “This will win us the war?” I asked. “Yes, they will not see you coming.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When the cyclops and I returned to the surface, the sun was already peaking above the horizon line. The time would be soon. Weapons were being churned from twigs that grew from a small crack in the mountain, and they were gifted to Demeter. One of which was named Laprys. She wielded the two bladed axe with as much agility as her small body could muster. The second weapon was wrapped around her left wrist. “To deflect even the most dangerous of things.” A Hundred-Handed one spoke up. They had been assisting the cyclops’ up until then. Hestia was not given a weapon from our brethren. Just before our mother departed on her chariot pulled by lions, she had something to give the oldest daughter herself. From her side, sheathed away, she pulled out a sword. It was short, possibly the same length as the lower half of my arm; but it’s point was deadly. “It’s name is the Harpe. Wield it well, daughter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hera was the last to receive her weapon. The Cyclops neared her and with one quick movement pulled a strand of her long black hair from her scalp. “Lord Zeus,” they said. He turned his head to face them. “We need you to strike this strand with all of your might.” And he obliged without a word. Just as he had summoned it before, the lightning came down with a brilliant crash. The strand of hair, once black, was turned into a strand of gold. The Cyclops peered over its shoulder to Demeter, who wasted no time in coming to a silent agreement with the creature. I watched from the side as her hands crafted a small root into a curved branch. A Hundred-Handed one took it from her hands and placed it gently on the surface of the mountain top. The Cyclops tied the golden strand to either side of the grown root and we all watched in awe as the curvature became even more fluent. “Lady Hera, the Epirus.” Her hands found the bows imprints with ease. It fell into the curves of her hands and fingers. “Dawn is upon us, siblings. Let us fight.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zeus sent Rhea away with her chariot of lions. He told her that he did not want her eyes to bore witness to the death of her siblings. It was an act of mercy on our mother, if anything. They shared the same wits, as well as the same heart. He did what was best for her, we all agreed. As our mother disappeared into the sunlight, we all turned our gazes to the still-setting moon. “Zeus,” Hera began. He glanced over at her. “Do not worry, there is nothing to fear. We are stronger than any Titan.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am not afraid of <em>them</em>. I am afraid of our father. He is the Lord of time, and of the Cosmos itself.” Her lips trembled as the words formed on her tongue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Soon enough he will no longer be the Lord of the Cosmos, Hera. You will take his place. All of us will.” Then, in that moment, our future seemed so clear. Zeus had enough confidence to stir the ichor in our bloodstreams. Kronos would no longer be the Lord of Time, or of the Cosmos.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Atop Mount. Othrys, stood our father. I had only seen glimpses of him before Zeus waged war--but there was this unmistakable evil dwelling underneath his blackened armor. I knew right away of it’s material. Obsidian inside and out. At his side he held onto the scythe that already had blood dripping from its curved end. Kronos raised the scythe in the air, and silence followed. I remember my eyes frantically searching my surroundings for some surprise attack; but all that followed was the quiet pounding of the earth underneath our feet. Titans appeared over the crest of the mountain. They all towered over one another, but none stood out as much as our father had. Rhea had given us all that she could, all of the memories she had of her siblings I could tell just a few from this distance. Atlas, who our mother said was Kronos’ hand, stood on the side not occupied by his scythe. Themis, the Titan of order, stood beside him. The scythe swayed in Kronos’ armored hand, as if trying to stop my eyes from seeing who stood behind it. I saw a bright light, one so vivid that no weapon of darkness could hide it. Helios. His sister, Selene, stood at his side. Countless Titans showered the mountain--too many for my mind to keep up with. This is what war was. A sense of hopelessness washed over me as Kronos tipped his head down to the six of us. We were surrounded by the children he sent to Tartarus, with faces that resembled his in the smallest of ways. They all held onto their weapons as if it would be the last time they would do so. “You will charge on my count.” Zeus hunched down, his lightning bolt seeming heavier in his hand. It took the slightest movement of Kronos’ finger for Zeus to cry out at the top of his lungs.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “FORWARD!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>My feet pounded against the grass. I had never breathed as hard, or as fast, as I had in that charge. My hands bore no weapon but the helmet that I had not worn just yet. My grip tightened on the metal with every burst of adrenaline that pulsed through me. The cyclops said that this would be our key to winning the war--but I still felt so uncertain. My siblings all wielded their weapons with such focus, with such drive. I could not bear it. My feet grew slower. My chest fell steadier. The charge continued on. I suppose that in the moment I did not think of what would happen. A part of me assumed that they would care, but this was war. War had no room for caring about comrades that fell too short. I ducked behind a rock, and held the helmet closely to my chest. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This would win us the war</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I repeated it in my mind until the words felt tangible. I gritted my teeth, and pulled the cool metal over my hair, and then ears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing changed from the first moment I put on the helmet. I could see everything just as before, but no one was around to say if they could see me. The Cyclops could have been lying to me, and I wouldn’t know until an arrow was through my chest. “No, no. Zeus said your body was made of gold.” The words were meant to be comforting. If my blood was like gold, then when would this war end? Was Kronos’ body made from the same ichor? Untouchable, out of reach. From the distance, a scream erupted from the bloodied field of grass. It was not of a voice I recognized. Hyperion was being flanked by his three children as Hera nocked a silver tipped arrow on her bow. She let it soar, let the first of the blood be spilled of the war. Eos, the Titan of the midday, allowed the arrow to pierce his shoulder rather than letting it hit his father or siblings. Hera took no time to nock another arrow. She had a gleam in her eyes--as if she were born for this moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Demeter and Poseidon stood back to back. Themis and her son Prometheus cornered them into a small cave. Their movements were too fast for me to recount in my mind. Demeter had thrown a bronze discus at Prometheus, while Poseidon retreated into the cave. He was gone, for what felt like too long--until a wave of water as clear as day exploded from the cave entrance. Hestia left no one unharmed, either. Her sword dripped with the same ichor that I feared the Titans would have. And in the thick of it all, stood Zeus. Kronos was a sword lengths away as his youngest son held his lightning bolt in the air, calling upon the storms he brewed seconds ago. The wind picked up, thrashing our father around as if he had no footing to begin with. Atlas came from the side, wielding what looked like a hammer--but Hera’s bow connected with the weapon before Zeus could. Kronos’ second hand was thrown against a jagged rock that seemed to appear from the soil. Gaea might have been asleep underneath the battle, but Rhea told us that she was always watching and listening. She had a distaste for the way her child ate his children, in the same way she grew angrier when her own husband threw their children into Tartarus.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No one drew close to me in that first battle. It started and ended with bloodshed enough to fill an ocean. Both of our sides lost something. We lost the naivety we once had for this world, and the Titans lost one of their own. Asteria stood no chance against Zeus. His lightning bolt summoned a strong enough storm to make the Titan falter, and it was then that the bolt shot down from the sky. Asterias’ scream still echoes in the back of my mind. It was bloodcurdling, and painful. I could not shake the feeling of my ears ringing for almost a day. That was the first of many deaths to come. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Our mountain seemed so far from Othrys. The obsidian fortress our father created was nothing but a small blink in the horizon. When Helios would urge the sun to rise, the fortress would disappear within its light. I found myself always watching it, even during times of speeches from Zeus, my eyes would always wander to his domain. “Aidoneus,” a voice called my name. “You always seem so distant these days. Is there something on your mind?” I knew who it was without even looking at her. “Hera, I’m surprised to see you away from Zeus.” The small jab was nothing but natural for the two of us. “I needed some time away, too. All he ever wants to do is talk about his upbringing on Crete. It can get lonesome with just him.” Hera took a seat beside me, and let her legs dangle off the side of the cliff. The sun had already begun to set when she joined me. “I am not sure that I am much easier to talk to. At least he had endless memories to recount.” My words came out quieter than I wanted them to, but she didn’t seem to mind. The moon lifted higher in the sky, without any words said between us.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You did not fight during the first battle.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or the second,” I admitted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you afraid of? Zeus says that our ichor cannot be pierced by any weapon.” I let out a sigh at her words. Her tone seemed so hopeful. She did not witness the death of Asteria, nor the ichor that flowed underneath her lifeless body. Some say that in her death she gave birth to the Goddess Hecate. The witch came into this world drenched in her mother's ichor. “You do not know what the Titans are capable of. None of us do. Why do you think it terrifies me so to run into battle?” A harshness came over my words like a small wave. I swallowed back the tone. Hera looked away from me after that. “The Cyclops say that you are there for the battles--that you..hide away with your Helm of Darkness. If what you say is true, then I cannot blame you for not fighting. Aidoneus, why don’t you see it for yourself? In the thick of the battle. Use this helmet of yours for more than hiding.” Her words had the same harshness as if my tone rubbed off on her. She always seemed to radiate the emotions that others demonstrated around her. I took a deep breath, and went to stand up. Her hand crept up the small of my back and held onto the fabric of the toga I wore. “Think about it, Aidoneus. Your power over the unseen could be what changes the tide of the war.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hera’s words never left my mind after that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> Zeus announced the following battles as if to name his next victims. Who would be next? Crius, Selene? Or even Kronos himself. None of us had any idea how the gears in his head turned; only Hera had any semblance of a way to describe his plans in a way that we understood. She would draw lines in the dirt, and would ask Demeter to sprout twigs that would represent each of the Titans and their children. So many stacked against the six of us. Cyclops’ and Hundred-Handed Ones did their best, but they were nothing against the might of their brethren. Their insides were not gold as Zeus had described it, but a deep crimson liquid that boiled as it left their bodies. Steam began to cover the dying fields of grass. I could almost feel myself choking as the smell of it all hit me during our third battle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was told by Hera that I would stay hidden behind Mount Othrys. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If your brother’s need you Aidoneus, you must find them and help them</span>
  </em>
  <span>, were her words. My eyes never left Zeus and Poseidon after that. Hera was wise, wiser than our youngest brother--wiser than our mother. Rhea had not shown herself since the first battle, and I feared that she never would. And if there were something else that Hera held as her ace, it was her cleverness. Zeus had his plans, but she had strategies. They encircled the Titans in the beginning of the third battle and kept the upper hand for only a few crucial moments. Kronos ran through the thick of the fight with the scythe that could cut through anything. He took down cyclops after cyclops. No rock that the hundred-handed ones threw could stop his path of tyranny. Kronos deflected it all off of his obsidian armor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While our father held a cyclops by the throat, Zeus walked into his eyesight. The bolt at his side was charged with an uncontrollable lust for pain, just as the scythe was. Hera’s words repeated in my mind, over and over again. Poseidon was holding off Phoebe with his trident--with just enough of an advantage from the small river just a few feet away. Zeus had nothing but his one strike. I feared the worst at that moment. Kronos disposed of the cyclops as if it meant nothing to him. He took a step toward his son, and in return Zeus raised the arm with the bolt. His grip tightened, Kronos kept walking. I turned away. However many feet away I heard the explosion go off. A flash of light so striking that I could see it reflected off of the mountain. I could no longer feel the pounding of feet against the earth from where I hid, but something felt amiss. I peered over the rock that covered me, and felt my breath become clogged with fear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Zeus had missed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He missed, and by three or four feet, the lightning bolt hit the ground behind Kronos. He hadn’t even flinched when the light flashed and exploded. Atlas who had been behind the Lord of the Cosmos had been hit, but it did not kill him. All it did was anger our father. His obsidian armor seemed to melt with the swelling emotions. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If your brother’s need you Aidoneus, you must find them and help them.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Helm of Darkness felt heavier as I ran. My bare feet felt hot against the dead grass, blocking out any of the pain that surged through my body. I needed to stop Kronos--or stop Zeus. My brother was not kind to himself. If he lost a battle, he would never let himself see the light of day. I suppose that it was not my place to pick him back up, but if Hera asked it of me, I would never hesitate to run into battle for him. Before Kronos could raise his weapon to Zeus’ throat, my fingertips brushed the snath of the pitch black scythe. Kronos lifted it up, out of my reach, and so I fell. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As I fell, I closed my eyes. I could not watch as my brother was beheaded by our father. I was no hero, I was a coward. No ounce of what made my brothers and sisters thrive coursed through my veins and never would. My head touched the ground first. Cushioned by the blow, my body still hit heavily. I could feel the presence of Kronos above me, growing closer and closer. I still could not open my eyes. The obsidian felt hot from this distance--boiling even. There was a loud scream after those thoughts surfaced in my mind. It was not Zeus’. Could it have been Heras’? If she had been in trouble and I had not seen, then I would have never forgave myself. But the scream was not hers, nor Zeus’. The scream grew louder and louder until I could feel my ears ringing from the closeness of the sound. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Who has forsaken me</span>
  </em>
  <span>--” The voice was broken and hoarse. “Gaea has spoken, father. You have lost this battle.” I could not feel her presence underneath the soil, was Zeus bluffing? He had no connection to the depths as I had. I felt something hit my cheek with a sharpness that I recognized as it made contact with my skin. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Obsidian</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I opened my eyes, and there I saw him. Kronos’ obsidian armor crowded and closed him in. As if it had been given too much tender and care, it grew like a flower in the sun. He was but a small hand that now crept up from its tallest peak. I glanced down at my hand, and saw the small shards of obsidian that grew from the ground around it. The battle was won, and that is all that mattered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>We had only a few days of peace. Those few days flew by within seconds. The Titans crowded their leader and began chipping away at the once obsidian armor that enshrouded the Lord of the Cosmos. If they grew too close, and chipped away at his skin, then the scream would be heard all the way to our mountain. My brothers and sisters spent the first night conversing. They drank in the moon that night. The white liquid spewed out from their lips and dripped from their closed mouths. During that first night Hera approached me. She was dressed in what Zeus named a himation. It wrapped around her body effortlessly. To the way her hair and eyes danced along with the light, I was utterly breathless. I cannot recall how my face appeared, but she laughed and giggled at it. I had taken a seat on the cliff side, just as I had before, and so she did as well. Her bare legs dangled off the edge without any fear. “We won, Aidoneus.” She said, and then repeated until her tongue got tired of saying the same thing over and over again. “You must come and celebrate with us--” her soft hands held onto my arm. “Zeus has the most wonderful story to retell from the fight. He saw firsthand how Kronos became his armor.” I wanted to tell her that it was me who did it--but decided against the idea. Hera and Zeus, they were a pair. I was not allowed to join them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hera, I’m afraid that I’ll just bring all of you down. Go, enjoy the celebration of another battle won.” She sighed, in this--aggravated way. I let out a quiet chuckle. “You will not bring us down, brother. Try to loosen up, you seem so tense. Battles will come and go, it is this time in the middle that we must revel. We must let go of the ichor we shed. If we don’t--I’m afraid that we will become just like them.” She knew, then. She knew that the Titans and our ichor were not unbreakable. The thought lent me comfort more than any revel would. “Hera,” I began, but she was not done speaking. “Always in such a rush to get your words out.” She laughed again. It sounded so at peace and full of life. “Come up and celebrate with us if you so choose, Aidoneus. I will never stop asking this of you. Tomorrow night, I will be back, I can promise you that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stayed true to her word, and yet again, I declined her offer. The third night arrived. I had not known it at the time, but that night was the end of our peace. “The wind feels different tonight.” She said, thoughtlessly. She must have been trying to fill in the silence between us. “You know--the more I think about our last fight, the more I question Zeus’ retelling.” I looked over at her. “Gaea has not come to our aid in a long time. Why would that change?” Heras’ cleverness was no small thing. She and Zeus were the two among us who always had a battle strategy to fall back upon. “Perhaps she saw how Zeus was..” I stopped myself. The truth tempted me in that moment, so much so that I almost let it free. “Almost killed by our father?” I tensed at her words. “How did you--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see through Zeus’ lies easily. He does not think before he retells his brilliant stories. I was there, Aidoneus. I did not see you, but you must have remembered what I said. Is that it?” She got me. There was no stopping Hera once she began, and no stopping her once she knew that she was right. I could spare no words, because without a nod or a way of saying: yes; she knew. “I hoped that you would tell me on your own.” She mumbled. Her finger began tracing an outline of the obsidian from our battle in the dirt between us. “Perhaps you would correct me, and the truth would finally come. But you did not, why? Afraid to step into the light, Aidoneus?” I could not answer her that night, and never would. Her words still keep me thinking, they make the gears of my mind work, and work, until I am exhausted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>We had all been asleep much later that night when the mountain began to shake and crumble. Astraeus had stalked onto our land with a wind so strong, we could not stand. All we could do was hold on to each other. Zeus reached out to his lightning bolt, and called upon a storm to match the one we found ourselves in. Though Astraeus was not the only titan to attack in the night. Hydaspes appeared from the water below us. Tears had stained his face since the death of his wife, Asteria. From where I held onto the mountain, I could feel his grief. I reached out to Hera as he climbed the mountain, and made a promise that I would never let go. In Hydaspes’ hands was a small child. The rumors were true. Zeus killed a Titan who was pregnant with a Goddess. Her yellow eyes seemed to look into mine as her father sent a wave of water crashing toward us. A golden light peered over the water and pressed it against its user. Poseidon joined Zeus in fighting the Titans that night. They held them off until they were forced to retreat. As they climbed down from the mountain, the little godling held on to her father tightly. I almost wanted to reach out to her--to tell her that there was another way, but she was gone too soon. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Within the storms, ruin came. Our mountain, once home to us and our brethren--had crumbled. My sisters and brothers all walked off in different directions in hopes of finding a new home. The Titans would not wait, they would be traveling close behind. The fight would wage on. I did not travel as far as my siblings. I did not even travel from the mountain. I could not move once my eyes caught sight of the cavern that led into Tartarus. Boulders had tucked it away, leaving my siblings to pay no mind to the cave. I did not let it escape my grasp so easily. It drew me in, like a moth to a flame.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My toga dragged me down the deeper I went. It’s fabric, as dark as the cave, became tattered and ripped with every new step. Finally, I saw the gate. The true opening to Tartarus. It’s insides were open to me, as if it were never closed to begin with. A calm wind hit my face, drawing me in. A calmness washed over my senses, even as the gates closed from behind. I began walking down the path where Cyclops’ and Hundred Handed Ones once laid, restless. I knew the way, I followed the same steps that I walked before. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This place is beautiful, isn’t it?</span>
  </em>
  <span>  “It is.”</span>
  <em>
    <span> Darkness dwells within you, young Godling. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Does it now?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tartarus is your true home, stay here, do not go back to the war. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“My siblings need me, I cannot abandon them.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>They may need you now, but your brothers will grow tired of your cowardice. Your sisters, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hera</span>
  <em>
    <span>, will see no use for it. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Hera knows of the powers I possess. She believes in me.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, Hades. She thinks of you as a stepping stone. Your power of invisibility will be used against you. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Who is this--Hades?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>He is you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>How had I not noticed the distance I walked? My steps were no longer familiar, and my mind was fogged over. The voice had finally left, but I could not think. It gave me a new name, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hades</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The underworld, Hades. No matter how far I ran, or how tightly I’d covered my ears--the voice stayed in my head. And now, I was lost. Tartarus was no longer comforting. The deeper I went, the more my thoughts would consume me. Had the cyclops and hundred-handed ones even gone this far? If they had, then they would not have returned with an ounce of their sanity. I still wonder if I lost some of my own on that fateful day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As I ventured back through the depths of Tartarus, I could not keep my hands still. I would constantly fumble with the dark blue fabric of my toga with every step I took. When I finally reached the end of the tunnel, Hera greeted me. She was busying herself with moving a boulder on its side to sit on. I remember the smile she offered as I walked into the sun. “Did you find a mountain underground, Aidoneus?” Her voice teased me. “How did you know that I would be down there?” I asked. “A little bird told me.” Perched on a broken down and dying tree stood a grey bird, with a black and white striped underside. It’s honey colored irises stared at me—and just like that, it flew off. “Afraid that I will run away, Hera?” She shook her head, allowing a weight that once pressed on my shoulders to be released. “I was looking for you because Zeus found a new mountain. He has declared it Mount. Olympus. Quite the name, wouldn’t you say?” I saw the way her eyes lit up, she could not hide it the way she thought she could. “It holds the same power he does.” She nodded. “How will our brother keep it out of the Titans’ hands?” I asked, which puzzled Hera at first. Had they not thought about that? The monstrous creatures would waste no time when destroying our newest home, and the next to come. “If you have something to say to Zeus, Aidoneus, then say it. You are older than him, wiser in ways that you do not yet see.” She was right. I was not yet aware of the powers that laid dormant underneath my skin. I glanced over at the cave one last time, “Fine. Let us speak to Zeus.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hera and I trekked back to Mount. Olympus in an uncomfortable silence. We lost many the night before, without any time to grieve them. The cyclops who forged the Helm of Darkness was among the ones whose blood shed. The Titan Astraeus had held him in his hands, and with the grip and force of his hold--the cyclops was no more. His daughter watched with wide eyes as droplets of carmine blood sprayed onto her face. I could not stop thinking of the sequence. She would be brought up by Titans who were thirsty for our ichor. If she were a godling like us, then would they one day turn on her? The thoughts disturbed me. “We are here, Aidoneus.” I looked up, toward the summit. Mount. Olympus was no hill--and it was nothing like our old home. White pillars extended to the heavens on its surface, and gold lined its borders. Hera led me up steps of marble. The cold rock progressed my steps until we both stood face to face with our brother. “Ahh, Aidoneus, it is good to see you. Welcome to Olympus!” Zeus’ enthusiasm was electric as always, “It looks beautiful, brother. It resembles your likeness.” My words were meant as a compliment, but even as they left my tongue, I could sense how my brother would take them differently. “Should it not? Did I not lead us into a victorious battle?” Hera stepped forward without making a sound--and placed her arm gingerly on to his shoulder. “He meant no harm to you.” She leaned in and said in a hushed tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. Brother, is there something you need of me?” Zeus had resumed lugging a pillar upwards onto his back as his words commenced. “Actually, yes. I am afraid that the Titans will climb this mountain just as they have the last.” I could feel the piercing eyes from where I stood. “How would you suggest fixing this problem? Mountains cannot fly.” It was a lost cause from the beginning, and I knew that; but I did not stop. “No, brother, mountains cannot fly. However, you can harness the winds can’t you? Ask them to assist us in keeping the mountain above the clouds.” Zeus went silent. He rubbed his temple with his pointer finger and thumb. I stood idly by, awaiting his response to be: no. I had prepared to be pushed aside just as I always had been, but his answer surprised me. “So be it.” He said, and did as I suggested. He raised his arms, and the winds obliged. Olympus lifted off of the ground in speeds that no one but us Gods would be able to feel comfortable in. Soon enough, all I could see were the plush clouds below us. “It is done. Now, if you will excuse me, Hera and I have to plan our next mode of attack.” I bowed and left.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No Titans had appeared that night. I finally had a moment of peace as my eyes fluttered closed. The last thing I saw was the moon as I drifted off into slumber. What met me in my sleep was nothing short of a surprise. Our mother was sitting on a tree trunk that had since been cut down, by no one other than her youngest son. She watched him lug the log around for sport--taunting nymphs and satyrs with it. She let out a quiet laugh. “He was always powerful, so </span>
  <em>
    <span>strong</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” The words stung. “I am happy to see you, Hades.” She said, the name rolling off of her tongue with ease. “When you were born, I wished for that to be your name. I saw a darkness in you--one that reminded me of your father. An unmistakable yearning for that silence.” I could feel a small ping of pain in the center of my being as she continued--as if I had no say. “Would you disagree, does it not suit you?” She turned to me, but I could muster no answer. “You were the quietest among your siblings. Even as your father swallowed you whole--there was no sound. I thought that you were already dead.” That pain in my chest grew heavier until I could no longer stand. I fell to one knee, and then let the second succumb to the pressure. “The truth is hard, isn’t it? Do not believe Hera’s lies. Your invisibility will be your downfall. There is nothing that waits for you on the other side of this war but darkness.” Rhea looked away from me. “You can stay with me, Hades. Become trapped in this memory and slowly taint it just like you do everything else.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I felt like I could not breathe when I woke up. I wanted to scream, I wanted to scream as loud as my body would allow me. My chest felt as heavy as it had in that vision. She had given me a new name, once again. I had heard the Cyclops and Hundred-Handed ones call Tartarus that name once before, when they were describing the time of their damnation. Something came over me that night. I would no longer carry the weight of one name, but two. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With Olympus safely in the air, it was only a matter of time before Zeus and Hera approached us all with their next battle strategy. With the loss of our best forgers--we did not see them for a number of days. We were all left to consume the time with daily tasks. Demeter tended to the forestry of our mountain, while Hestia grew the hearth and its flames. Poseidon left for hours on end, only to return with wet locks of hair and pieces of clothes. All I did in that time was sit on a cliff's edge and stare off as the sun and moon rose in the sky one after the other. Helios and Selene could be reasoned with, couldn’t they? Their father was the only one tying them to the war. If we could eliminate him from their ranks, then they would be without a cause. I went to stand, to relay my idea to my siblings--but that is when Zeus and Hera finally emerged from their quarters.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am very pleased to see all of you.” He said with that smile of his. It was intoxicating. “Do you have a plan, brother, or is this a waste of time?” Demeter asked with a harshness that he did not like. “We do, Demeter.” Hera chimed in. Our older sister took a step back. “We have word that Themis and her son, Prometheus, are teetering on the side of the Gods. She does not agree with Kronos’ ideas, and her son is willing to follow her wherever she goes. His father--we have heard nothing of Iapetus..” He had trailed off, a tinge of disappointment in his voice. Hera was quick to bring the morale back up. “Aidoneus,” I did not realize that she called my name. I had grown so used to Hades that my true name no longer held a space in my mind. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Brother, are you present?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” I could feel Zeus’ eyes piercing through to the back of my skull. His words were calm, collected, and dangerous used in this way. “What is it?” My voice came out weak and small. “You will approach Themis and Prometheus with the Helm of Darkness, you will convince them to join our side.” Hera tried to sound sympathetic, but Zeus’ tone over shone it all. “I will do as you ask.” And with that, I left.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zeus and Hera could only gather so much information on Themis and Prometheus. It was only what Hera could hear through the small birds that always seemed to fly above her. They flocked her with any information she asked for--small or big. And from there, she would hand over the knowledge to Zeus. She would plant the seed, and he would fall into her palms. If it were not for Hera, then we would have stood no chance against the Titans. She was the one who approached me much later in the night, after Selene had already raised the moon into the center of the night sky--and told me what her goal was.</p>
<p>	“You are the only one I can trust to speak to Themis and Prometheus.”<br/>	“Why me? Because I can turn invisible? I am no diplomat, Hera.” She paused, one finger pressed against her rose tinted lips. “That is why it must be you. If Zeus or I approached her domain, then she would see it as two of the Gods trying to force her into this role. You bring something that is more real. You bring her a perspective that she has not seen yet. Themis is the only one that we can reason with, and that is why I trust you, Aidoneus.” There was that name again, one that I had grown so fond of only for it to be tainted with our mother’s words. “You put a lot of faith in someone that prefers the comforts of Tartarus to Olympus.” She let out a breathless chuckle at my words, as if I was cracking a half-true joke. It was completely true, she was just unaware of it. “I put a lot of faith in someone that I know has more potential than they let on.” My lips were pulled into a thin line, but Heras’ curved into a smile. Even in the nighttime sky, she radiated a golden hue. “When do I leave?”<br/>	“Tomorrow.”</p>
<p>	Tomorrow came quickly. I could not sleep; my mind was too cluttered with thoughts of failure to allow that luxury to overcome me in the depths of night. Hera had left not long after she spoke to me to sleep--I almost asked to join her. Almost. She gave me a place to let down my guard, to speak with honesty that I was not afforded in the company of my brothers and sisters. Though, if Zeus were to find us, interlocked in her chambers, then I would have been sent to Tartarus until the war was over. I didn't even know if she felt the same way--the same tug that I felt whenever we sat close to each other. Even so, what I felt was an ever growing feeling in the center of my chest. Whenever we spoke, I would try not to fumble over my words, and tug at the side of my toga. All habits that, to this day, I cannot break. But whenever I’d see her--I would consciously try and meet her eyes; to speak in a louder and more sure voice. Now, I was left to travel the vast land myself.<br/>	My siblings gathered in the center of Olympus. They all stood around a circlet of gold that had been brought up from the innards of the mountain. With them, they all held something gifted to them from the Cyclops who forged them. Demeter was the first to walk toward me. In her hand, she held the bronze shield that could transform from a bracelet--to a broad circle of protection. Hestia followed, and gifted me a small flame she had been tending to over the last few days. “If you need us, let this flame burn the tallest tree, and we will find you.” Are the only words of comfort that I was given that day. Zeus and Poseidon both neared, lugging a bottle of a nectar. It’s deep amber color gave me solace. Hera was the last to offer me anything. On her arm, sat one of the birds that fed her knowledge. With one swift movement, the bird turned from her--and flew onto my shoulder. I bowed my head, becoming weighed down with the gifts to ensure my safe return--and turned to leave.</p>
<p>Mount Olympus was nothing but a spec in the distance now. Ahead of me was a vast land of mountains, hills, and grassy fields that had not yet met the unyielding war. My arms were crowded with weapons and nectar, so much so, that I let out a quiet chuckle. I placed them all down on to the ground, leaving Demeters’ shield; and Heras’ bird. I loved Hestias’ gift, and the nectar would have done me well on my own, but if they wanted me to truly become invisible--then I’d have to give them up. And if, on the chance that I lose, I would not want them to find me as my oldest sister suggested. If Themis decided that we were unfit for her help--then I’d never want to be seen again by my siblings and their scrutinizing eyes. <br/>The trek to Themis’ domain was long. She stood in the center of Mount Olympus, and Mount Othrys. Tall cobblestone walls surrounded her, closed her in, away from the deadly war. Before their monsters could see me from their high vantage point, I placed the Helm of Darkness over my head. I took in a deep breath, and opened my eyes. Nothing was different. I expected the cyclops forger to appear, perhaps as a vision. All I had though, was the memory of our first exchange. He told me that this Helm of Darkness would turn the tides of the war, was he correct? Is this what he prophesied without having the gift of prophecy? Themis’ fort stood beyond me, with a gate that stood taller than the entrance to Tartarus. If he had the gift of prophecy, then I wished that he would have told me what awaited inside.</p>
<p>Olympus might have been considered beautiful at one point--with its tall and vast halls of marble and gold. But Themis’ fort was more enticing. Statues of herself and her son lined the perfectly symmetrical stone walls. Scrolls encased in glass so fine, I was afraid of them shattering as I walked by. Nothing was out of place; from the tapestries to the lanterns that lit the dark rooms. The air smelled mildly of oil, with a tint of juniper berry. I stepped lightly as I went, however, I could not stop my eyes from exploring every new room I came across. In one of these rooms sat a nymph who quietly hummed along to a song that must’ve been stuck in their head. As I passed another room, an intense smell of cinnamon and cloves overcame me. Inside, a nymph was stirring together spices with bottles of nectar and ambrosia. The food of the Titans they’d call it, and soon the food of the Gods.<br/>I finally came across a room that opened up to be twice the width and height of the previous rooms. Three, twenty foot long, stone thrones sat in the center. All encrusted with sapphires and rubies alike. Someone sat in the one closest to the left, rubbing a viridian leaf in between their fingers. In their hair was a wreath, with small leaves falling out with every small move they made. They wore a toga that barely wrapped around the waist, more-so resembling the color of the outer skin of a cantaloupe. Their skin was dark, a sign of how much the sun loved them. And their hair, even darker. A black as deep as any ocean--darker than Heras’ hair. “I want more ambrosia,” They finally spoke. They sounded younger than I did, but with twice as much energy as I could muster in a lifetime. “Ambrosia with--ginger!” They clapped their hands together as it was finally brought out, carried by two nymphs who could barely hold on to the giant proportion. “Lord Prometheus, please do not eat all of it at once.” One of the nymphs warned, but it was too late. Prometheus ate the plate of ambrosia in one foul bite. The Nymphs sighed together, and left with the empty plate.<br/>“I hope that you did not eat the ambrosia like that.” A voice came from an archway, yet the face of the one who it belonged to was covered with an unbound scroll. “Mother, do you not have more important things to tend to?” Prometheus asked with a scoff. “Of course. One of those responsibilities is keeping you from filling up on ambrosia.” From down where I stood, they seemed just like us. Gods were born from Titans, we were all connected and born from Gaea and Ouranos--yet we did not get along. Perhaps this would be the beginning of that. Themis treated her son the way Rhea treated Zeus. She looked out for him, with an endearing smile and happy outlook. If she knew that I was in her presence, would her disposition remain the same? I would not find out at that moment, for Themis left just as quickly as she entered. When she was finally left, Prometheus cleared his throat. “I know that you’re in here, Godling.” I could feel something prick at my eyes when those words left his tongue, as if he had been holding in that secret for years. “Your breathing is too loud. I am surprised that mother did not hear you when she walked in.” I could no longer stand. I fell to one knee, readying myself for whatever fate had in store. “Reveal yourself before I do it for you.” And I did.<br/>I pulled the Helm of Darkness off with a swift motion. I did not yet know what death felt like, but there was nothing I wanted more in that moment. I had already lost hope. Prometheus stood from the smallest throne, looking me up and down with his amber eyes. “I do not know of you. Have you not fought yet? A new child of the Godlings?” His voice was so accusatory--filled with judgement toward my cowardice. “I am..” Who was I? “H--I am Aidoneus. Son of Kronos and Rhea, older brother to Zeus.” Laughter suddenly hit me like a wave. “Older brother? There must be some mistake. Please--please tell me that the little Godling Zeus is hiding somewhere. I wish to see the Lord of the Gods himself.” I leaned over myself, folding my knees underneath my chest with arms outstretched, palms facing down. “Lord Prometheus, my brother sent me in his steed. I am sorry that I grace you with my presence and not his.” The pricking sensation from my eyes slowly turned into a feeling of wet droplets falling down my cheeks. Did Zeus give us a word for this--feeling? It was unmistakable. Dread filled me to my core, with sorrow intertwined. I was terrified. “I do not need to see a pity party from you, Godling. Stand up and face me like the being you were born to be.” I did as he asked without question. “Crying? For what reason? I have not killed you yet, so please keep the tears away from my throne room.” Tears? I brought my hand to my cheek, and pulled it away to find that it was wet with those droplets. Prometheus sat back down in his throne, one leg crossed over the other with no care in the world.<br/>“You have come for my mother, no?” I nodded. “Godling, do you have no voice? Use your words!” I tightened my fists, and let my voice come out. “Yes, I have come to seek help from you and your mother.” It was so hoarse. Did the tears cause it, or my own fear. “Your voice is soothing, keep talking. My mother will return within the hour.” I did what he asked of me, once again. He said that my name was beautiful and that it meant one of two meanings: respectable mind, or shameful mind. I believed in the latter. Themis soon returned after we exchanged as much conversation as he could get out of me. The fear had left my body, in the slightest, but as soon as Themis entered the hall it returned with a vengeance. “Prometheus, did you find a new nymph?” She asked, with her nose in yet another scroll. In her hand, she held a weighted scale. It was new to me in those times, an invention all her own and I bore witness to it. “No, mother. He is a Godling sent from Zeus.” Her eyes no longer read the ancient script, but my body language. She read the way I fumbled with my toga, and how I could not look at her for more than a few seconds at a  time. “His name is Aidoneus. He asks for our help, mother. Without father.” Themis took a seat beside her son in the largest of the three thrones. “Aidoneus, was it? Sit down. Let us speak in peace.”<br/>Nymphs brought out a cushioned chair for me to sit on, along with ambrosia and nectar on a silver platter. “I promise that these are all safe to eat,” Themis began, and motioned for a nymph to take a sip, while another took a bite. I could not explain it in the moment--but the thought of death had not even occurred in my mind. Themis did not radiate the same deafening feeling that my father did in the battlefield. The nymphs left, and the room grew silent.<br/>“I am surprised that Zeus sent you, and not himself.”</p>
<p>	“He was afraid that if he went himself, it would be a declaration of war.”</p>
<p>	“And you sneaking into my fortress with your invisibility is not?” My jaw dropped in the slightest. The thought never occurred to me how It might look in the end, and I cursed at myself silently. “Your side is winning, Aidoneus. I never thought that I would say it, but I have just returned from a conference with my sister. She has prophesied that our side will soon fall through means that are unknown.”<br/>	“Mother thinks that it will be us joining your cause that will change the tide of the war.” The cyclops had said the same about my helmet, could this be what he meant? By entering her domain, and laying the terms, would that truly put us in favor of winning? “If you could just consider it Lady--” She put her hand up, “I will fight for you, there is no need for the formalities.<br/>	“But by fighting for you, Godling, I want a win that is guaranteed. I wish to see all of you fighting alongside my son and I. His father, Iapetus is close to yours. He will see us fighting on your side and he will be furious, can we trust you will come to our aid?” I remembered back to the obsidian that took Kronos days to shed. “You have my word, Themis, Prometheus. I will aid you in whatever way I can.”<br/>	“Then the deal is signed.”</p>
<p>	“Thank you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Themis, Prometheus, and I left in a hurry. She had word that the next attack would be during nightfall. “You say that your mountain is in the sky? It sounds impossible.” Prometheus chimed in as I described Olympus. “My brother defies the logic of this world. Olympus is above the clouds, away from our fathers clutches.” Themis snapped her wrists, sending her lions into an even faster run. The chariot wheels whirled with a speed that my eyes could not follow. “We should be there soon. Hopefully before my siblings arrive.” I looked up, staring at the sun, wishing for Helios to take all of the time in the world to make it set.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The moon touched the bottom of the sky when Olympus finally came into view. The clouds parted to reveal the bright golden light it emanated. Themis snapped her wrists once more, and the lions ran as swiftly as they could. Their legs pounded against the fields of grass in a rhythmic motion. We didn’t even see it coming. Helios, with his horse drawn chariot. The whites of their manes and coats shone brighter than even he did in the moonlight. His sister was beside him, with no chariot, but instead with a winged horse. Themis could not stop the blade from cutting across her eyes, or the flow of Ichor from where they once were. “Mother!” Prometheus screamed, his hands finding his toga faster than I could handle. He tore a piece off, and wrapped it around her ichor soaked face. “Aidoneus, call to your siblings. You said that they would come to our aid, now fulfill your promise!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The chariot was gone. Themis was without sight, and Prometheus had nothing but his bare hands. Behind him, his mother laid with ichor bleeding through the toga fabric. My legs had never gone so fast. I placed the Helm of Darkness over my head, and would not stop, even as my feet grew tired. Underneath the shadow of clouds, I screamed as loudly as my lungs would allow. “Zeus!” There was no fire to burn from Hestia’s hearth anymore, “Poseidon!” The feeling of footsteps against the ground sounded in my ears. It was almost too late when I finally lifted the shield that Demeter gifted me. Iapetus’ spear screeched against the bronze, but that did not deter him. He went in for a second strike. I had thought that he was aiming for my arm, so when I tried to move it--surprise caught me in my tracks when he slashed the back of my knee instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I could no longer stand. “Hera,” I let out, barely a whisper. “Demeter--Hestia..” My vision grew spotty. “You will die here, Godling. This is payment for swaying my wife and son to your wretched ways.” I can remember Iapetus raising his spear above my head. Its two pronged end lunged down at my neck, but there was no contact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aidoneus, it seems that you have found yourself in quite the trouble.” Zeus’ thunderbolt held off the spear as arms wrapped around my shoulders. Demeter and Poseidon both pulled me to my feet, and held me there. I bit on my lip as I placed pressure onto my wounded leg, so much so, that ichor dripped down my chin. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> A voice called, and anger pulsed through his veins. Prometheus was holding his mother in one arm, and a broken sword in the other. Zeus turned his head, and sent a lightning bolt shooting down from the sky. Iapetus stood no chance against the electricity. “You will not speak to me that way,” Zeus charged his bolt one more time. “No--</span>
  <em>
    <span>brother!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” I yelled. “Aidoneus promised us that you and your siblings would not let this happen. You have lied!” Zeus did not stop walking. His bolt seemed to charge with even more power. “Ichor would be spilled on both sides, there was no avoiding it.” Zeus now stood above Prometheus. In his towering height, the Titan was nothing compared to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Prometheus, Titan of Trickery, remember your place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And with that, Zeus’ lightning bolt fell from the sky--taking Helios with it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The battle ended swiftly. The only loss on our side--were Themis’ eyes. Her life was not lost, and she claimed to be fine once the Titans retreated. However, Prometheus was furious. “My mother can no longer see because of a promise that your brother broke.” Him and I were alone. He claimed that I was the only one that he could trust. I was bedridden, with ambrosia being handed to me every few hours by nymphs. If a stranger walked in, would they think that I was Prometheus? Resting in my bed, being fed the food of the Gods. “My brother was only trying to protect me..” My voice came out quiet and mild. I had no energy left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your brother is a fool. With her eyes, my mother could have destroyed the Titan army. Now she is reduced to nothing.” He stood across the room, but even from where I laid, I could feel the anger seething off of him. “Your mother does not need her eyes to fight, Prometheus. She said so herself. She needs time to heal--we all do.” Themis assured us all after the battle was won, that she could continue--even so, no one knew if she was bluffing. “You are just saying that because of your brother. Face it, Aidoneus, you live to be his underling. I know the story of you six, how he was allowed to live while the rest of you faced the dark alone. Will you allow Zeus to treat you like this until the end of your days?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Allow him to beat you into the dirt until you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I did not sleep that night. How could I? Prometheus spared no offense. My mind started to spin when his words finally stopped. I tried to close my eyes--to make it stop, but to no avail sleep did not take over. Prometheus left, to join his mother in her newly built chambers. Even then, my mind and body were restless. The ambrosia was finally healing my sliced knee, allowing the pain to subside for the first time in what felt like days. Soon enough the sun rose, and I rose with it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I had been outside of my father’s stomach for eight years now. That day was so peculiar. Time flows differently for us Titans and Gods. A day can pass by in minutes if we lose our focus, and a week in hours. Three years felt like three months. In that time, Hera and Zeus only grew closer. But I was not alone. While Themis healed, Prometheus gave me company that I did not expect. We sat on the cliffs edge of Olympus and stared off into the ever shifting clouds. “Do you think that it is possible to walk on clouds?” He asked me during one of our nightly conversations. “Olympus does, I suppose. But Olympus is a mountain, we are not.” He let out a chuckle at my serious tone. I never knew when to take him seriously--and would never find out. He was a trickster, and followed his own set of rules and morals. “Why don’t we find out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Prometheus took my hand in his and jumped. I remember the feeling of being weightless, only for a few, unforgettable moments. His arms braced me, and we fell face forward into the pillowy clouds underneath us. They did not catch us as he had wished, and instead, let us fall even further. Wind flew in and out of our togas, touching our skin with a crisp motion. I had never felt so alive. Prometheus yelled out, and for once, it was not a yell of battle. A smile braced his lips, one so real and raw that I could not help but smile in return. Once we got close enough to the ground, the bliss slowly came to a stop as he cushioned the fall. Our toes touched the ground gingerly, and then our feet. The dirt felt cold, with small jagged rocks poking out in different areas. “Your smile is beautiful, Aidoneus.” He said in passing, but I saw his eyes looking at me as a red pigment filled his upper cheeks. “You should do it more often.” His words filled me with a happiness that I had not felt since I last saw Hera, months ago. “I will try.”</span>
</p>
<p><span>“Promise?”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Promise.”</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another year passed in the blink of an eye. More Gods and Goddesses were born, while we aged. Zeus grew taller, and his muscles fit the same mold. A beard lined his face, with stripes of white intertwined with the blonde. His blue eyes, however, did not change. If anything, the storm inside of them just grew hungrier. Hera’s beauty was nothing but ever growing and changing. The golden hue of her skin seemed to grow more vibrant with each passing day. Poseidon, he found solace with the sea. He exchanged his toga for fabrics lined with seaweed and shells, he named them. Demeter let her hair down from the braided crown, somehow making her more dangerous in battle. She no longer held herself back. Hestia stayed by the hearth instead of fighting these days. A veil covered her face, as if she were hiding from the Titans that ravaged the land. No one could blame her. During one battle--just days before, Kronos pulled her close and whispered something in her ear. No one could stop her as she ran away, towards the safety of Olympus, and the hearth she protected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I did not change. I stayed the same, with my less than ideal muscles, and short hair. While my siblings grew darker in the light of the sun, I preferred the light of the moon. Selene was no Titan who gave mercy, but she scared me less than her brother. She looked sympathetic as her weapon sliced and cut into our skin, all to spill our ichor until nothing else came out. Prometheus and Themis sought out four more Titans to join our cause. Nike, Kratos, Bia, and Zelus. Children of Pallas, and Styx, they were bred for war. In each new battle, we remained victorious. Themis, who no longer had her eyes, continued to ride into every new fight with her lion drawn chariot. Prometheus and I stayed close to each other, urging the other to continue the fight. I drew the Helm of Darkness, and he drew his trickery. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>One night, in the cover of darkness, I found myself in his bedroom. As if he had known that I would come that night, he sat upright in his bed. War had hit us that day, with cuts and bruises littering our skin. I sat at his side, and traced circles on the small of his back. He looked at me suddenly, and whispered words that I will never forget. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Lets leave.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Zeus had said that the Titans were dwindling. They could see the path where the war was headed. Themis had word that her sister, Phoebe, prophesied the outcome, and the Titans heard. The end was coming. “We cannot.” I whispered back. He leaned forward, and pressed his forehead against mine. “Just for a little while, I am tired of the fighting.” I let out a sigh. My body ached, and fatigue pressed down on my eyelids. “Lets.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Prometheus and I walked along the edge of Olympus in the moonlight, and found the small cliff where we used to sit. Grass grew along the edges now, a sign of how we abandoned it after we tried to walk on the clouds. The battles had started after that, and were unrelenting. Perhaps that is why I felt it so easy to rest my uneasy head on his strong shoulder. He placed his hand over mine, and we laced our fingers. That night is hard to recount. The memories grow darker after the first kiss, that felt so warm against my cold lips. And even darker after his hands found the thread that held my toga to my hips and shoulders. That morning, we were met with no sun. Helios did not raise it, and Selene did not pull the moon back down underneath the Earth’s crust. The sky was a mixture of yellow and navy blue--and the clouds were nowhere to be seen. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zeus stood in the center of Olympus, and Hera was at his side, with the same puzzling look that meant the gears in her head were turning. “What is going on?” I asked, with a hand pointed to the sky. “The Titans wish to speak with us.” Hera spoke up, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Prometheus and I. She quickly turned her body away. “They say they wish to talk of the future of the war.” The war that had lasted for nine years, almost ten. It did not feel like it had been that long, but I could remember every single night that had passed. Somehow, still, they went by in my mind with a speed that only Gods could withstand. Ten years that felt like ten months. “Will you discuss it with them?” Prometheus intervened, “Be my guest.” Hera said under her breath. “We must. This could be the resolve we have always wanted.” Zeus pulled his bolt from his side, unraveling the weapon with a grace that was unfamiliar in the ways of my brother. “Will you come with us, Aidoneus? Father wishes to see us all. Hestia as well.” Hera turned her head to face the hearth that laid a few feet away, still burning with a brilliant flame. “If Aidoneus goes, then I shall too.” I placed my hand on Prometheus’ arm gently. “This is not your business, Titan. You, your mother, Nike, and her siblings will stay here.” Heras’ voice was harsh. Had it always been that way? “We will be just fine, Prometheus. Keep Olympus safe while we are away.” He nodded, and I left to join the Titans down below. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter Eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tw:</p>
<p>slight depictions of gore are especially prominent in this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kronos stood by himself in the battle field. What were once luscious fields of grass were now burned wastelands. We could see the Titans from miles away, slowly urging their broken bodies to join their leader. Hecate, now a full grown Goddess, appeared to us after Atlas did. Years ago, we asked that she stay with her own kind, but her father refused. Now she stood with those golden irises, full of a hatred that I understood all too well. Her mother was killed, and mine abandoned me for the others. Soon, Astraeus joined his daughter, and the rest of the Titans fell in line. “You wish to speak of war, father? Then speak.” Zeus began, his voice booming over everyone. “It is clear, Phoebe has spoken, the war will end in your favor.” Kronos responded, his voice muffled by his obsidian helmet. “So then, let us make it official before more Ichor is spilled.” Zeus held his thunderbolt high in the air, high enough for all of the Titans to see--and let it drop to the floor. Hera let out a gasp, as did Demeter. It did not break when it hit the floor, and so, Zeus had no reaction. He was aware of its power. It was designed to be held by a being as strong as he.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We all followed suit. Hera placed her bow on to the ground; Poseidon, his trident; Demeter with her shield and double bladed axe; Hestia only stood there, weaponless; I was the last to place the Helm of Darkness onto the ground. The Titans begrudgingly threw their weapons onto the ground without a care in the world, if they broke, they could be repaired within seconds. Our weapons were without their maker, now. Kronos placed his scythe beside the thunderbolt. Electricity buzzed between the two weapons and their close proximity. “Let this be the day, father. The war between the Titans and the Gods is over.” Zeus outstretched his hand--as if doing it for all of us. Kronos did the same. Things were going well. Hope was rising above the horizon line of the sky filled with both a moon, and sun. No one could have predicted what came next.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zeus cried out in agony as a silver blade cut through his golden skin. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You--</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He tried to get out, but Kronos only dug the blade deeper into his skin. New weapons grew from the open wounds of the Titans, and they advanced. Hera ducked underneath a two-handed sword, and went for Epirus. Demeter let no one come near her, as she grew a wall of greenery to protect the remaining weapons, and herself. Hestia stood beside her, with the veil still covering her eyes from the soils of war. Poseidon did not need a weapon to control the rivers and lakes that surrounded us. Waves arose onto the battle, and Titans were drowned in the blink of an eye. “Aidoneus!” I turned my head. The Helm of Darkness was whirling toward me, just before Prometheus was bombarded by his father. He had come, even though Hera told the titan to stay on Olympus, there he was. Iapetus thrust his sword into his son's shoulder, digging deeper and deeper into the ichor soaked wound. It poured down into the soil. Zeus’ ichor mingled with it, with the ichor of both sides. I placed the helmet onto my head, and disappeared from it all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The screams became muffled, and distant. I felt a tinge of peace from a place that I could not reach out to. “Yield, son! Beg for mercy!” Zeus fell to one knee. “You and your mother belong in Tartarus, rotting away with all of those monsters!” Iapetus screamed into his son’s ears. “You are the one who murdered my mother!” Hecate took control of the river water, fighting for the Titans against her own kind. I was brought back to our first battle, in the hopes that this would be our last, we lost sight of how ruthless these beings were. They did not care for the shedding of ichor, or the lives lost; they only cared for taking home the winning title. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ouranos was wrong, you will never surpass me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You will lose more than your eyes if you continue fighting, son. Give up.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Curse you, and all of the lives you have taken from us!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>My legs moved before I could urge them to. The bare soil felt relieving against my bare feet as I ran. I ducked below the swinging of ichor soaked weapons, and stopped before the scythe and thunderbolt. Both called to me. One called Hades, and the other, Aidoneus. “If you beg, Zeus, perhaps I will let your siblings live in your honor.” A single arrow shot past Kronos, easily deflecting off of his armor. The Epirus was just as unwilling to show mercy as its user. “You will do no such thing.” Heras’ voice somehow seemed amplified by the fighting. Another arrow, then two, and two become three. She nocked a fourth, and sent it flying. The arrows all hit in succession. Zeus finally stood, bracing himself on one knee--and then the other. As the fourth arrow hit, a small crack broke through the obsidian. My hand wrapped around the grip of the scythe, a choice was made, and the name </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hades </span>
  </em>
  <span>rang in my mind. I raised above my father as another arrow grazed his armor. The Helm of Darkness no longer blocked out the screams and cries. Another arrow hit, and the crack fissured along the side. I took in a deep breath--and let go.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Silence fell over the battlefield as Kronos’ head rolled onto the ground. I dropped the scythe, and took a step back. My hands were shaking as ichor dripped from my fingertips. I felt lighter, more free spirited than ever before. Is that the feeling a killer is granted with? Zeus pulled the knife out of his hand, and pushed it through the chest of Kronos’ body. Titans ran, only to be shot down by Epirus. The others saw their leaders head on the ground, and laid their weapons on the barren soil. Some even bowed. Hecate was among the ones who swore fealty that day. I pressed my sticky hands against my helmet. As I pulled it off, the war became clearer. I no longer saw through such a small opening of invisibility. “Kronos is dead, he will be sent to Tartarus, where he will rot until the end of time.” Zeus looked to me, and I understood. I was the one who would bring him there. “I wish not to send all of you to the depths, but for your loyalty to him--you will be punished.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Atlas was tasked with holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. His punishment was the worst, and would last until someone willingly held it for him--but Zeus would never let that happen. He was cast away on a mountain no one would dare to climb but the Lord of the Gods himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hecate was pardoned, and named the Goddess of Witchcraft. She did not stay, though. Her father was brought to Tartarus, and so she left. It would not be until much later that we would see her again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iapetus, Hyperion, Krios, and Koios were all forced to kneel before us. Kronos’ remains laid before them in their bloody manor. Prometheus stood behind me with his mother, along with Nike and her siblings. We all looked down to them, with their rusted manacles. I took them into my hands, and pulled until the gate of Tartarus was in my view. “You will see us again, killer. Kronos will return.” Is what I heard as the gates closed behind me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helios was chained to the sun, and his sister, the moon. Until they could prove to Zeus that they no longer felt the urge to kill us--they would be set free. Their brother, Eos was left to his loneliness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That night, after the ichor had been washed off from our bodies, Zeus sat all of us down with our goblets of nectar and plates of ambrosia. “Quiet down, everyone.” He stood up, and motioned to an opening. Three figures stood in the darkness until he motioned for them to enter. Three Titans, all standing taller than ten feet, presented themselves. “Zeus, what is this? These Titans did not fight in the war.” Poseidon, already drunk off of three glasses of nectar, mumbled. “That is not why I brought them here.” Zeus placed his glass onto the table. “Oceanus, I saw your daughter years ago while I searched for a new home. I wish for her to share a home with me now that the war is over. Metis, Titan of good council, be my wife. Be my Queen.” The room grew eerily quiet. “I will take you as my husband, Zeus.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hera did not stay for the toast. Metis took her seat after she left, keeping the seat warm as if the Goddess would ever return. My heart was torn in two. I wanted to go after her, but Prometheus asked me to be by his side. It was no secret how she felt of Zeus, and yet, he remained blind. Perhaps that is why I found solace in someone else. He made me happier, left me smiling, more than anyone had before. I felt the sadness overcome me when she left the room, but I could not stay upset. We were to celebrate a wedding.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A week is all it took for Olympus to undergo the transformation. Our throne room, once golden and bathed in light, was now decorated with candles and white fabrics that hung from pillars. Silvers began to litter our halls, per Metis’ request. She said that it reminded her of the metallic feel of the ocean so deep below. I gave her all of the silver I could find underneath the ground, I practically bathed her in it when her wedding day finally came. Zeus stood at the far end of the courtyard, dressed in a white toga. There were no weapons in sight, only smiles and idle chatter. His hair was braided back, while his honey colored beard was let out. Small braids lined it, to hide away the silver streaks that began to grow after Kronos stabbed him. He told us that it was nothing to worry about; but we all saw the lines of age on his skin. Zeus was the youngest of us all, though he looked the oldest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metis stood behind Demeter and Hestia. Lilies were braided into her long, ebony hair, so long that her dress matched its length. In some lights, she could have been Hera’s twin. Except her skin was littered with wares of the sea, and Hera’s skin had never touched it. Demeter and Hestia walked to either side, presenting the Titan to her husband. Poseidon stood between them, with Oceanus and Tethys at his side. The vows were said, and they exchanged a kiss. I could remember Prometheus cheering so loudly that day, as did the rest of us. But I can also remember searching the courtyard for a Goddess that I had not seen in that week. I excused myself during dinner, and searched for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I was happy. I did not want anything to change. I wanted to stay in the sunlight with Prometheus, and the comforts of Olympus. I wanted to forget about the place that named me Hades. Though, things were not that easy. I had started walking, and walking, until the sunken cave of Tartarus came into my vision. Hera sat on that turned over rock, just like she did years ago, with a small grey bird resting on her finger. “You should not be here.” I said, with a force I did not know I possessed. “Has Zeus rubbed off on you, Aidoneus?” Was her response. I let my shoulders fall, and my back become slack. “I am sorry..” She continued. “You have nothing to apologize for. I would rather a Titan take my life than be compared to our brother.” Hera let out a quiet laugh at that. She moved over, and so I took a seat beside her. “You have an affinity for such gatherings as weddings, don’t you?” I asked, absentmindedly. I did not know where I was going, only that I wanted to talk. “I suppose I do.” I nodded. “Now that the war is over, is it appropriate to say that I wish I could have taken you--” There was a quiet rumbling underneath our feet. “Aidoneus?” Hera pressed her hand to my shoulder. “How long have we been here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A day.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I had never called for a chariot as quickly as I did as the rumbling became louder. Out from the shadows of Tartarus grew a two wheeled chariot of shadows. Dark and thick enough for my feet to stand firmly. “Let us go.” I reached out for Hera’s hand, but she did not interlock hands with mine. “I fear that something is going to happen on Olympus, Hera. This is no time for your qualms with Metis!” The force had returned, and my shoulders grew to be squared again. “She is pregnant, Aidoneus. Metis has been pregnant since Zeus proposed to her.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The birth of Titans and Gods did not transpire the same way it did with mortals. Time meant nothing to us, so a birth that could take months to get through--took us days. On the following day of the wedding, Metis told Zeus that she was with child. Hera had planted a seed in him, the seed that would change the course of our world. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If you marry her, Zeus, her children will be stronger than you--and will usurp you. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Were her words. She recalled them exactly, whispering them into my ear as her hands wrapped around my waist. The chariot raced to Olympus as more fear filled my senses. Hera and Zeus were said to have no trace of Kronos in them. Even Hera, with her dark hair, was never compared to our father. They were the image of our mother, in physicality, and in mentality. But this was not fully true. Hera had a hunger, one that without a war was left ravenous. I wanted to push the intrusive thoughts from my head, I wanted to believe that she was still the same girl I fell in love with--but the truth was as clear as day. War had changed her, just as it had changed all of us.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The clouds spared a glimpse above of Olympus. The wedding fabrics and candles were gone, and replaced with the golden finery. Hera and I climbed our way onto Olympus, with nothing but the drive to stop Zeus from making the same mistake our father did. Our siblings were gathered in the courtyard. Zeus’ quarters only grew louder as the door opened, and then closed again. Poseidon shook his head. “There is no speaking sense into him, he says he will eat Metis to avoid the birth of the child.” Hestia turned to our sister, and cried into her shoulder. Demeter consoled her. I walked over to Poseidon, with no care in the world for the Goddess that I left behind. I could not allow myself to dip into those old feelings--not now. “Let me in, I can reason with him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No you cannot, brother. He is too far gone.” Poseidon held his trident in front of the door. “Let him do what he wants. It is his way, or nothing.” I tried to push the trident out of the way, but my brothers’ body was nothing solid of a rock. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Poseidon</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” a voice called his name. “Let our brother pass. If you could not persuade him, then perhaps he can.” Hera’s voice seemed milder. Poseidon slowly lifted his trident away from the door. “Be careful, Aidoneus.” Were the words I parted with.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I had never seen his chambers so disheveled. Tapestries and blankets were ripped, and burning. The thunder bolt was not on it’s golden shelf. I held back my breath as I walked. “I am your </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lord</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Metis. You thought it logical to keep this birth from me?” My foot brushed against a feather from a scorched pillow. “My Lord, I have not heard of this prophecy. Give this child a chance. She will be a girl--wise, beyond her years.” Something crashed against the wall. “Wiser than me, I am sure.” His voice was so gruff and hoarse. “No, my Lord. She will lead us into an era of prosperity.” It was during this time, when I wished that the Helm of Darkness was not beside my throne. I wanted it over my head, I wanted the cool metal to block out the sounds. “You say this now, but I know she will not. She will try to take my place. She will soil all I have worked to build!” I took another step. “Zeus, listen to me!” Another. “Metis, you know nothing of our future!” I gulped. “I know that without this child, ruin will befall you!” There was quiet. An eerie silence that only led to further destruction. I could no longer hear Metis. “Zeus?” I said in the middle of the silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I saw the puddle of ichor before I saw the two of them. I covered my mouth with my hands, and forced my breathing to stop. In the shadow of the moonlight, I saw the outline of a mangled body--being shoved down my brother's throat. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter Nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I could not breathe. I did not feel the hands of Poseidon hitting either side of my face, or Zeus’ yelling from across the room. I did not feel the thumping of feet against marble as Prometheus ran in. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to his warm chest. “I couldn’t stop him..” Are the only words that left my mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Days passed by, and all I did was stay in my chambers. All I heard were the fights between my siblings and Zeus. He complained of constant jabbing pains in his head, and those only led to more fights. “If you left that poor girl alone, then you would not be dealing with the repercussions.” I heard Demeter say during one of those nights. The door opened, and I could just barely see them in the light of the courtyard where all of our rooms met. “Our children were going to usurp me, the Lord of the Gods!” And then their conversation became muffled as the door closed. “Don’t waste your time listening to them, Aidoneus.” Prometheus placed a small plate of nectar and ambrosia onto my blankets. “Eat something, please?” His voice was endearing, but all I wanted to do in that moment was step into the courtyard. I wanted to say something to my brother, and if he doesn’t like it--then so be it. “Anyone there?” Prometheus waved his hand in front of my face, and I sighed. “I’m sorry, I can’t get the image out of my head. I suppose this is how Rhea felt when Kronos ate all of us, but Zeus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Zeus was spared, but that does not mean that he is the Lord of the Gods. You were the one who killed Kronos, whether or not you will admit it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He led us into war--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But you were the one who filled in the gap between myself, and you.” Prometheus leans forward, and gently presses a kiss to my forehead. “Please eat. I have a conference with my mother, but I promise that I’ll be back after.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sun rose before Prometheus finally came back into my room. I pressed my eyelids closed, and laid down underneath my blankets--but sleep did not take me. The plate at my legs was half-touched, I could not bring myself to eat the ambrosia while Zeus and Demeter were outside my door. “Hey, are you awake?” He asked, as if already knowing the answer. This was not the first time he walked in on me trying to sleep away my worries. “I suppose.” I grumbled back. “I have exciting news.” He said, and so I turned my head to look up at him. He met my gaze with another kiss. His lips were warm against mine, but welcoming all the same. “Today, the rewards of the war will be given out. Realms, most importantly.” I turned away as soon as the words left his upturned lips. “And what was it that your mother spoke to you about? Does she wish a realm to herself?” My voice came off in a way I didn’t intend. Prometheus placed his hand on my shoulder, and started tucking himself underneath the blankets. He wrapped his legs around mine, and embraced me with all of the warmth I needed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My mother has tasked me with creating a creature that is not a God, or a monster. One that stands in the center of it all. Something to inhabit this realm, she said.” He sounded so happy that I did not want to bring him down with me. “That sounds amazing. When do you start?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As soon as the realms are given to the Gods.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>We all met in the courtyard. I kept my head low, and my shoulders tense. I could feel the power radiating from Zeus as he walked into our circle. “It is nice to see all of you. I know that over these last few days, things have not been well. I hope that this will cheer everyone up.” His words sounded sincere--but I could still see the dried ichor underneath his nails. In the center of the courtyard, from a small opening erupted three small beads. One was white, the second, blue; and the third, black. “The white one will choose who shall lead Olympus and the Gods. The blue, will choose who controls the seas. And the third..will be given to whomever bathes in darkness down in Tartarus.” I was aware of everything in that moment. I could hear the whispers from my siblings, their wagers of who would be given each realm. I gulped. The beads stayed in the air, as if testing the waters of the Gods among them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The white bead chose first. As if Zeus knew who it’d choose, he held out his hand. A golden laurel grew from the bead, intertwining itself into his honey colored hair. The second bead traveled among us. Its blue color seemed to shift in the sunlight. It finally drew closer to Poseidon, and embedded itself into his trident. He smiled, as if this came to no surprise. “It will be okay,” I could hear Prometheus whisper from behind. I stepped forward. The bead stood alone in the center, wondering if I was truly bathed in darkness as it was. It regarded me, and finally, drifted toward my chest. It pressed against my skin and from it grew a silver necklace. I was to be the King of Tartarus. There was no mistake, I was birthed and bathed in the darkness itself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Three more beads appeared from an opening in the mountain. One was a deep sapling green, the second, a burnt orange; and the third, a golden bead with a white sheen. Our sisters regarded them all, and chose themselves which realm they would hold power over. Demeter wrapped her calloused hands around the green bead, and was named the Goddess of the harvest. Hestia pulled back her veil and reached out tenderly for the orange bead. She was named the Goddess of the Hearth. Hera was last. Reluctantly, she took the golden bead into her hands. Everyone grew quiet, awaiting the role she would play in the future of this world. “Rhea has sent that one herself. She wished for one of us to take over her responsibilities of motherhood. Hera, you shall be the Goddess of marriage and childbirth.” I could see her hair curling at the words, and her eyes growing narrow. Had Rhea not been the one to choose her to bless marriages, then I am sure she wouldn’t have allowed Zeus to walk away that day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zeus said that in a week's time, we would all leave Olympus. He would stay, and look over its growth. He was now the Lord of the Cosmos, bearing the same title our father did. He complained of headaches; perhaps a cause of the power bearing down on his shoulders. The cyclops who had taken refuge inside of the Olympus mountain told him to stay in his chambers until it went away. Zeus disagreed. He walked out in the sun, until one fateful day,</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mother wishes me to visit Oceanus and Tethys.” Hera said during one of our feasts. The week was almost up--and our happiness was fleeting. I could feel it drifting away. Prometheus did his best to console me, but his words went in through one ear, and out the other. “Why?” Zeus asked before taking a sip from a goblet filled to the brim with nectar. “To see a marriage that did not end in bloodshed.” We all grew quiet. “Then so be it. When do you wish to leave?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tonight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And she did. Hera floated down from Olympus that night without a second glance. It was only when she finally walked into the sea, that Zeus could no longer contain his anger. The table where we all once sat, exploded into millions of wooden splinters. “Zeus, you need to calm down.” Poseidon was holding onto his trident, and Zeus, his masterbolt. “Did you see the way she treated me, tonight? Like a fool.” Poseidon tried to loom closer to our brother, but Zeus backed away. “I am Lord of the Cosmos, King of the Gods! She is nothing but a version of our mother.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do not forsake Rhea, Zeus. She raised you in her likeness just as she did Hera.” Poseidons’ grip grew tighter on his trident.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are not the same.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are not listening to me, brother.” Poseidon tried his best. His demeanor was calm, and rational. It was our youngest brother, who carried the weight of our world, who was acting rash. “I am listening perfectly fine. I wish to be alone.” He turned away from us. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Prometheus, who stood at my side, urged me to follow my sisters’ lead. We all turned to go. “You cannot think that I will leave that easily, brother. You have forsaken our mother and sister, I will not stand for that.” Electricity began charging in Zeus’ palm. “Poseidon--” I tried to yell, but I was too late.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Poseidon had raised his trident as the lightning left Zeus’ weapon. The golden trident cracked against Zeus’ head, sending all of us sprawling to the floor. My ears were ringing, and the light was so vivid and bright that my eyes were sealed shut. I raised my hand, if only to block out some of the blinding light. I could hear the shuffling of armor, and I could feel the sudden presence of metal that I did not have a name for yet. “Thank you Uncle, for freeing me.” I forced my eyes open. There, besides Zeus, stood a woman with adamantium armor, and a bronze shield. Her skin matched the likeness of her weapon, and her hair was an even darker shade of brown. “I am Athena, Goddess of wisdom and strategy.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Athena, daughter of Metis, was born from Zeus’ head that night. She offered her wisdom time and time again, but all I could see was the sight of Zeus the night her mother was eaten. The vivid image of the ichor spilling from his lips never left my mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I grew sick, so sick of being in her presence, that I made my own obscure. Prometheus liked her company. He said that she </span>
  <span>had wisdom to offer him of his creation. She said that they should be called, Mortals, because they would not live forever </span>
  <span>like us Gods. It was one of these nights, when I was feeling lonely, that I would wonder how Hera was. She was somewhere in </span>
  <span>Poseidons' domain, with Oceanus and Tethys. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I stood from my bed, and stumbled over to the balcony. The moon shone in the sky in her brilliant glory.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I smiled to myself. The thoughts of my brother soaked in our ichor was nothing compared to the times I spent with Prometheus. Him and Athena were close, but I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that she and he did not harbor the same feelings that him and I had for each other. It was a constant, and had been for years. The only constant that I could rely on. I would go to sleep with his warmth beside me, and wake up to his messy hair and sweat soaked skin. I let out a breath, and walked back to my bed. There were creases where he slept, and the linen smelled like ambrosia. During those times, even with the fleeting happiness in the air, I could still dig out small moments. The door creaked open, and there he stood. He yawned, and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. "I did not think that you would still be awake at this hour." He said groggily. "I could not sleep. I cannot sleep. Tartarus..The idea of becoming the King keeps me awake." Prometheus pulled his toga off, and laid down beside me. "How about trying to sleep, without thinking of the rest of our days?" Our days. "I will try." I pulled the blankets over our shoulders, and allowed my eyelids to grow tired. "Even after you create the mortals, you will come down into the darkness with me?" I asked. "I will follow you until the ends of the Earth, Aidoneus." Those were the only words I needed to finally let sleep overcome me.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The fateful day arrived. I wished that I could have spent more time above. The idea of going down below, with nothing but my sanity keeping me tied to myself, was terrifying. Years ago, I went too deep. I could hear my mothers’ voice, calling to me in a name I wish I had forgotten; Hades, she called me. I dreamt of a time when Zeus was growing up, and how Rhea wanted nothing more but to stay with him. The realm had chosen me, though. I had no choice. Poseidon had already left. He spared no words to Zeus, but he did wish me farewell. Hestia sat by the hearth, tending to the flames that promised to keep the mountain warm. Demeter and I were the only ones left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goodbye, brother. Promise me that you will return to the surface. At least once a year.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I nodded. “At least once a year, Demeter.” And with that, she left. She could create fields of crops for the mortals that would soon fill the world. Prometheus told me, only a few nights ago, that him and Athena decided that they would be made from clay. He would mold them, and she would breathe life into the creations.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zeus stood before me. There was no evidence of the birth of his daughter, and if there was, it was hidden away underneath his honey colored hair. “Brother, I know that you shall make Tartarus prosperous. Farewell, Aidoneus.” I smiled, and bid farewell to my brother. I would not let the sight of him, eating his first wife, ruin this for me. They all had so much hope.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I held the Helm of Darkness in my hand, tightly, as I walked along the cliffs edge of Olympus. I had not visited it since that night, when Prometheus first said that he loved me. “Today is the day, isn’t it? Time seems to escape me when I am creating.” Prometheus molded a piece of clay the likeness of a small flower that had begun growing. “I want you to have this.” I placed the Helm of Darkness to my side, and took the delicate creation into my palms. In the sunlight, it hardened, and fractured only slightly. “I am looking forward to the day when you join me in Tartarus. I want to grow flowers that resemble this one, and I want you to be my witness.” He leaned in and kissed me after those words left my lips. It was so quick, but I could feel the desire stirring underneath my skin all the same. “I can bring you there, so that your journey is not lonesome.” He offered, with that smile of his. It seemed to warm my chest even with him sitting a foot away. “Please.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter Ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The ground had never looked such a bright green before. Demeter had already begun growing crops to last a lifetime, with vibrancy that nothing else could match. In my darkened chariot, I spent my time riding through what was once a war ridden land. Soon enough I would look after a place that harbored the Titans, and my father. Until I arrived at Tartarus though, I wanted to take in all of the smells and sensations. Demeter had the cyclops build her a small temple, with pillars that seemed to reach the sky. She offered me nectar, and I happily accepted it. I stepped down from my chariot, and Prometheus followed. “It’s only midday and you have already built your life down here, sister.” Demeter hummed a response, too wrapped up in pouring the nectar and placing a small leaf on the surface of the drink. When I smelled it, a cooling sensation went through my nose. “I have decided to call this plant, mint.” I took a small bite of it, allowing that same cooling sensation to travel down my throat and into my stomach. “The mortals will adore this. Your harvest will not disappoint, Lady Demeter.” She liked the way Prometheus used her title, and parted from us for a moment to find him a laurel for his hair. It weighed down his dark curls, but he didn’t seem to mind. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>We left Demeters' fields by late afternoon. Finally, the caved in mountain that we abandoned years ago came into view. A strong feeling of fear began settling in my chest as my chariot came to a halt. “Aidoneus?” Prometheus brushed a strand of hair away from my eyes. “Everything is going to be okay. There is nothing to fear in the realm that you now rule over. Your brother made sure that the Titans were locked away where no God would ever roam. Not even you.” I pressed my head into his chest, and nodded. Words were something that I was not capable of offering, as Tartarus stood over me. He understood this, and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “I love you, Aidoneus. </span>
  <em>
    <span>King</span>
  </em>
  <span> Aidoneus.” King Hades, I thought to myself. I would not let the name ruin the moment, but somehow, it crept in when I least expected it to. “I love you, too.” I parted from him, without even knowing that it'd be the last time I did. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Prometheus snapped his wrists, and was off. The chariot pulled him away so quickly, that within seconds he was just a black dot in the light of the far off sun. I let out a breath, and held on to the last remaining memory of my old life: the Helm of Darkness. I took a step, a slow, grueling step, toward my domain. I could hear small cries far off, remnants of the cyclops’ and hundred-handed ones’ tears from when they were imprisoned there. It was almost comforting in a way, as I finally came upon the gate of Tartarus. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I pressed on the doors, with all of my might, and stepped back as they finally opened. I stood in the archway, feeling like a small creature before its predator. Was this truly the beginning of my future? The bead chose me. I rubbed the necklace that it created between my thumb and pointer finger, hoping and praying that it might turn into the white orb that chose Zeus. As I looked down, I saw that nothing had changed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You seem troubled, your Majesty.” My eyes shot up, revealing a woman who did not share the likeness of my mother, or a Titan. She had long, dark as night hair, with a dress that seemed to become the floor where she stood. And at her side, sat a three headed beast with a coat of the same dark color. It was small, but radiated a power that made my hands tremble. “Who..” I cleared my throat. “Who are you?” I tried to project my voice, to seem powerful—in the end it came out barely louder than a whisper. “I am Nyx, daughter of Chaos, overseer of the night.” Her voice seemed to echo, as if there was more of her coming from different places in Tartarus. “The incarnate of the night, you say? What are you doing here, in my domain?” Had Chaos sent their child to overthrow me? Was this where I died? “I am only here to offer my aid in ruling over Tartarus.” She bowed deeply, and the beast beside her let out a quiet yelp. “This is your new companion, a gift from Chaos. Cerberus is his name. He shall guard the gate of Tartarus when he comes of age.” From the darkness that Nyx gave off, came the beast. It ran at a speed only matched by a God. Three, small heads, no bigger than his small body emerged with eyes as red as a pomegranate seed. He jumped up, and all but one head bared their teeth in an attempt to play. “Cerberus!” Nyx yelled, but he did not care. I knelt down beside the creature, and rested my hands on his heads. “It’s quite alright.” I said to her. Cerberus licked my hands, and dug his rough fur into my arms. “You say that you are here to assist me, Nyx? I am glad of it. I was afraid that I would be alone.” I had said the last few words quietly, but something told me that she heard them nevertheless. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nyx led me into a corridor that I did not recognize. Some part of me, in the back of my mind questioned her true loyalties. Her presence was mysterious, as the night had always been. Most of my greatest memories happened when the moon was the highest in the sky, and the stars, orbs aflame—were their brightest. “How long have you been waiting?” I asked her. “Since the day you were freed from your father’s captivity.” My throat became dry, and my hands drenched with sweat. “Have you known all along that it would be me who became the King of Tartarus?” She slowed down her pace, and faced the darkened walls of the hall. “I suppose that..I have always had a feeling. You went into the heart of Tartarus and returned to the surface unscathed. No God can say the same for themselves.” I almost let out a laugh. On the surface I might have returned in one piece, but my mind was forever torn in two. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The corridor stretched for so long my legs became tired. Cerberus found himself in my arms, fast asleep after such a long trek. Nyx floated along the pathway, her dress fusing with the obsidian below us. My eyes adjusted to the darkness a long time ago, and I wondered if it had to do with the fate that laid before me. The small creature in my arms opened his pitch black eyes, with small red irises that seemed to bore into my soul. I bent down and placed him onto the ground. “We are almost there, my Lord.” I had no idea what was before me. Perhaps my fears would be proven correct and the personification of the night was leading me to my father’s prison. There, he would unlock his jaw, and swallow me whole once again. Kronos would spare no one as he ravaged through Tartarus and from there, to Olympus. And in the end, it would be my fault. “Lord Hades?” I whipped my head around to face the Goddess. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where did you get that name</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” I asked, an unwelcome fierceness overcame my tone. Cerberus bore his teeth toward her, as if feeding off of my emotions. “Lady Rhea asked me to use that name, is it wrong of me to do so?” I took a deep breath. The surprise came and went like a wave from the surface. “When did my mother say that to you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ten years ago, my Lord.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When the war began, and our home was destroyed, I found solace in the cavern walls of Tartarus. It was then, that I heard a voice strangely similar to Rheas’. She told me the truth behind my name, and my purpose. I had wished to keep that name hidden from everyone, but myself. Now, it would be all I heard from the Gods and monsters in my court. Was it already time for this name to become mine? I thought that I had more of a life to live before Tartarus became an extension of my being. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then, I suppose you may call me Hades.” She bowed her head, and continued down the corridor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been years since I last traveled so far down below. The curvature of the hall was unnatural to me, as was the pair of doors that laid before Nyx and I. “Welcome, to the House of Hades.” She motioned with a flick of her wrist, and the doors opened. A large expansive path was the first thing I felt with my bare feet. A river flowed on either side, seeming to draw me in as I neared it. Mist flowed above, constantly swirling around itself in a repetitive pattern. Crimson carpets with golden etching and edges were laid out on the expanse, as well as torches of a deep orange fire that seemed to burn my nostrils. The mist swirled around pillars that were the height of Tartarus itself. The room, open to the terrors that awaited me, made the feeling of discomfort lessen. Cerberus took no time as he ran down the pathway, leaving Nyx and I to our own thoughts. “It is beautiful.” I said. “The cyclops have spent the last decade building it for the King they hoped would come.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As I traveled even further, a chair, eight feet tall--sat in the center of it all. Draperies and robes of the same crimson as the carpets hung from its arms, all with a similar golden like language. “Your throne, my Lord.” My bare feet brushed against the stone stairwell that led to it. I traced my hand along the arm of the chair, and then the seat with a fabric so soft I felt that I could sit down and never stand again. The dais loomed around me, and there stood Nyx, with that look in her eyes that already felt familiar. I sat down gently, and took in the feeling of the house. It was mine now, I was the King of this place. Beside me, Cerberus had already dug into a robe--making it his with his scent running through the threads. I reached down and touched the tip of his nose with my finger. As I pulled away, he let out the same yelp that he had when I first met him. “Shall we see the rest of the house, Hades?” Nyx asked, her arm already outstretched to a door that I hadn’t noticed until then. “Lets.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Olympus was large in its size, with rooms to fit us all, and more. But the House of Hades never seemed to end. We finally came across my chambers after turning and going through so many doors I lost count. A skull had been carved into the wood, stained with an even darker color than the rest. I looked down at Cerberus, and offered him a smile. He ran his nails against the door, and I took that as my cue. I pressed on the door with little effort--and stepped back as it opened itself. The little Cerberus was the first to run in. Nyx told me that he knew his way around, and so I was not surprised as he curled up in a small pile of blankets beside the bed. Deep reds and purples lined the pillars that created the outside of the room. It was as open to Tartarus as the throne room was. A vanity of a dark oak stood beside the grand bed, with a cushioned seat. Prometheus would have liked it. Tapestries of my accomplishments hung where the pillars were not. Kronos fusing with his armor; finding Themis and Prometheus, and convincing them to join us; and on the last pillar, was me, holding my father’s scythe in my hands. “Is this all to your liking?” Nyx asked somewhere distantly. My mind could not form words as my eyes traveled each and every thread. “I shall take my leave, my Lord. If you need anything, simply call my name and I will appear.” I turned to her, my hand grazing the final tapestry. “Nyx, will you offer me council if I were to ever ask?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, my Lord. That is why I am here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I looked up at the tapestry, and then back to her. “Do you believe that I will become the King my father was?” She was quiet for a moment, perhaps testing the waters of her first question. “I think that you will be a better King than he ever was. Fair, kind, among other things.” I allowed my hand to fall to my side at her words. “Thank you, Nyx.” She nodded, and disappeared into the darkness below. I glided over to my bed, and placed the tired Cerberus beside me. A part of me wished that it was Prometheus at my side, but the small creature provided enough warmth for the both of us that night.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter Eleven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I hadn’t realized how much time passed since the first day of my time as King. Supposedly enough moons and suns had gone by to last a month, but I had not seen them myself, and thus had no true idea. I had kept myself busy, if only to remain surprised when I first saw Prometheus one of these days. I patiently waited, day after day, burying myself in work to act as a distraction. During one of these days, when my back began to ache from sitting on my throne for so long, Nyx approached me. Worry lines creasing in her face, breaking through the blank expression she never stopped wearing. “My Lord, I am sorry for interrupting your work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nyx, it is all right. Why do you seem so worried?” She had no time for words. Suddenly she was disappearing into the darkness below her dress. I had asked her to teach me this mode of travel, and one day I would--just not that day. Not on the day when it truly mattered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I ran as fast as my bare feet would take me, down the pathway of the throne room, and through the obsidian corridor that led into my home. When the end finally came into view, my eyes formed thin lines just to see Nyx standing in front of someone. At that moment, I had assumed that he had come to see me. I saw the tips of black curls, and a familiar colored toga. “Pro--” my words became caught on my tongue as the face of this person became clearer. It was not Prometheus, nor someone I had ever come across. “Is this the man that I must speak to?” The man bent down on both knees, and held his hands in the air, clasped together. “Lord Hades, I ask that you have mercy on my soul.” I stood, stunned. Nyx looked all the same. “Who are you?” I asked, “Alexandros Iasonas.” His words formed with a shaky tone, all to match the way his limbs trembled underneath me. “And how do you know who I am?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Gods speak of an undertaker. They call your domain, Hades. Please, show me mercy as you have the others.” I turned to Nyx. She promised me her council, yet her lips were pressed into a thin line. There was no council that day as one of Prometheus’ mortals begged for forgiveness. “Come with me.” I said, and turned to go.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alexandros was the first of many mortals to find themselves in my domain. He had barely a life to live in the end, middle-aged as he had called himself. A snake had slithered into his bed late at night, and dug its fangs into his neck. That is the last sensation he could feel, before he awoke in the gateway of Tartarus.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“These mortals are too frail to stay in the same domain with the Titans, Lord Hades. We have the vast space of the Underworld at our hands, we must use it. Create a place for these mortals to sleep eternally.” I had never been so tired before. Nyx continued to offer her council, and I waved my hand to dismiss her. Three more mortals stumbled into my realm, sitting beside the prison cells that held the Titans of times passed. “I’m afraid that you and I are not enough, Nyx. These mortals wish for atonement but I have none to give. They cannot leave through the gate, their bodies simply turn to ashes and then reform where they once stood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is why we must create a place for their wishes. They did not commit the same acts of treason that the Titans did.” I pushed aside the table before me and my throne, and stepped down from the dais. “So be it.” I said, and walked passed the night time with a sadness bearing over my shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>My room was the coldest it had been in a long time. I removed the tapestries, and allowed the mist to flow in, unrelenting. Cerberus who had grown double his smaller size was curled up in my bed. “Do you wish to go on a walk, Cerberus?” I asked, and his eyes sparked with a loving excitement. It was contagious enough for a small smile to fall onto my lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The House of Hades was thoughts away as Cerberus and I walked. I had never known how expansive the Underworld was until that day, or night, or afternoon. Time seemed to never flow, forever stuck on the first time I stepped foot into this place as its King. Nyxs’ suggestion pricked and prodded at my mind with each and every step. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They did not commit the same acts of treason that the Titans did</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And yet, they were stuck in the same cells as the mangled titans and their kin. “Cerberus, what do you think? Shall I task the cyclops with building a place just for these mortals?” Prometheus’ mortals. My chest seemed to ache as his face crossed my mind. Cerberus and I walked into a field of ashes without even realizing it. The soles of my feet burned, and Cerberus clawed at my legs, hoping to be picked up. I motioned for him to stay behind, and he did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ashes stretched for miles upon miles. Cerberus was nothing but a mixture of darkness and red irises in the distance. I was afraid that if I didn’t turn back soon, I would become lost within the greys and blacks of the ground. If I were to clear away the ashes, and build in its place a field of grass, would the mortals be content with that mercy? That is all I could offer them in their deaths. No amount of gold and silver could take back the time they spent up above, and I would constantly curse at myself for their misfortune. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nyx?” I called with my hands cupped around my mouth, hopeful that it would reach her from wherever she rested. Ashes began to wisp around, forming the shape of a long, black dress; and then the rest of her features soon fell into place. “Lord Hades, you beckoned for me?” She bowed her head, even when I protested against the formalities. “I have thought about your ideas for some time, and I wish to begin building an oasis for these lost mortal souls. We shall call this place, Asphodel. The ashes will be turned into a field of grass, so that these mortals may remember their time above.” In the corner of my eye, if only for a moment--I could have sworn that Nyx shed a smile. “Consider it done, my Lord.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Soon enough, those few mortals grew into a cesspool of faces that did not recognize each other. Five came all at once, and claimed to all have been killed by a single person in the night. “Nyx, I have a question.” I pulled her aside, away from the eager ears of the mortals. “If this killer were to die, and find themselves here, where would they go? Asphodel is for the mortals who wish for eternal sleep..” She pressed her thumb against her lip, a sign that the gears in her mind were moving at a rapid pace. “Whoever this ill-fated murderer is, they shall go to Tartarus with the rest of the Titans. Murderers belong with murderers.” It was settled. Tartarus soon was filled with mortals who only wished for others’ destruction, and thus, shared cells with the fifteen foot tortured Titans. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was during one of these days when more and more mortals fell through the gates of Tartarus that I walked along the river's edge. I watched from afar as Cerberus regarded each and every mortal. Nyx was somewhere, far off, thinking of ways to improve the influx of mortals into my realm. I had no idea that their lives could be cut short in an instant. I had assumed that Prometheus would watch them carefully, make sure that they had an easy life to live. But the mortals said that no Gods watched out for them. Some said that they saw glimpses of Zeus, or even Athena--though none saw enough to believe in their existence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cerberus circled one of the shades, with a poise and dignity that no other beast carried. The mortals’ soul was darker than the rest. Cerberus turned his face to them, and in one foul swoop--sent the soul into the dark blue river beyond the pathway. “No!” I yelled, and wished for the ability to travel the way Nyx did. I ran as fast as my bare feet would take me, until I finally could see a clear figure in the waters. This was no shade. Her hair was as deep and dark as the water, as if she were made from it herself. A chiton wrapped around her body in waves, it seemed. “Who dares allow this mortal into my waters?” No words came from my mouth. I knelt down on one knee, allowing gasps from the mortals to echo. They had never seen their King kneel before someone else. “Are you the Hades they speak of in the mortal realm?” She asked, and I nodded. “My deepest apologies..”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Styx. I am the Goddess Styx, of the river where this soul is now confined. Tread carefully mortals, for if you fall into my waters--your soul will never find peace.” With those final words, the Goddess disappeared into the deep waters of her river. From that day onward, that river was named the River Styx, in her honor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Souls would wander. They would enter into my domain with no memories but their names; and sometimes they wouldn’t even remember those. I realized over time that those souls fell into the river Styx in hopes of feeling something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>--other than the eternal sleep promised to them. And if a soul were to wander too far--then they would come across the four rivers that all flowed toward the gate. The Styx was the first, of many, that I discovered. Mortals were curious, and in their curiosity, they would not tread carefully enough. The Acheron, river of Woe, was the first to be discovered after Styx. A mortal was without a name, and a purpose, and thought that stepping into the river would end that blank feeling in their mind, but all it did was suffocate them. Cocytus was the second river, said to have been filled with tears of lament. Surrounding Asphodel, was the River Phlegathon. The ashes, once pieces of history, were touched by the fires and blanketed what Asphodel used to be. The final river, Lethe, which flowed through the House of Hades, was forbidden from being touched. No God, or mortal, was allowed near its waters. The saying went that a cyclops had fallen in, and its memories were no longer there. The river took them, and never returned them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were times when Lethe tempted me with its forgetfulness. I had a handful of memories that I wished to be removed--but I knew that it wasn’t as simple as that. If I were to simply dip my finger into its waters, my whole being would no longer be there. I would be a husk of a King. I had watched, once, when a mortal came into my throne room to meet with the council. They said that they were no murderer, they would never hurt a soul--but a shade said that this mortal killed them in cold blood. I sentenced them to Tartarus for their crimes, but they chose the River Lethe as their punishment instead. I could not move fast enough to stop them before they dipped their legs into her waters. By then, it was too late. I wondered if they thought that it was an ordinary river, one that would take them back to the land of the living, if only to hurt others the way they already had.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the first year of my ruling, I patiently awaited for Prometheus to walk through Deaths’ Doors. I paced the throne room, counseled shades among shades; but he never came. More of his mortals walked through the gates of Tartarus, more worse than the last. Gruesome sights welcomed me in my throne room, where I decided the fate of these mortals. It had been a quieter day. Most of the mortals were sent to Asphodel, and a handful to Tartarus. Nyx, who stood beside me at all times, cleared her throat. “Lord Hades, you seem troubled.” I had been playing with a stack of papers, wishing silently that he would walk into my throne room. “I am just waiting for someone, is all. He said that he would visit me once a year.” She grew quieter. The truth was as plain as day, but we did not speak of the subject more. “Lord Hades,” Nyx said only a few minutes later. “I wish to ask you something.” I looked down at her, “What is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hundreds of mortals are walking into your domain by the day. I think it is time that we consider adding more Gods to your council.” The thought hadn’t occurred to me of adding more to my council, but she made a point. More Mortals appeared by the day, and though the Underworld was never ending, we were only two beings. Nyx pressed her hands to her stomach, “I am with children, my Lord. Three boys, and three girls.” A rush of happiness came over me in that moment as I smiled more than I had in a long time. “That is wonderful news, Nyx.” She held up a hand, and my smile disappeared as soon as it came. “I am elated with the news myself, but I believe that my children will be of help to your court. Chaos has said that they will carry the souls here, to your Throne room. The Moirai, the Fates, will cut the ties of the mortals that keep them on the surface. Hypnos, incarnate of sleep, will make the transition of death easier for the mortal. Charon, he shall be the ferryman who keeps the mortals safe in the vast rivers of the Underworld. And lastly, Thanatos, incarnate of death. He will greet the mortals in their last moments, and cut the strings that tie them to life.” My throat grew dry as she spoke. Six children, born completely from the darkness. At least one of them would be able to see the world up above in its fullness. “Thank you, Nyx. Truly.” Is all I could muster. “Yes, my Lord. Anything for you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The three Godlings were brought into this world only days after. Nyx entered my chambers with six, terribly small Gods in her hands. They all wore the same color as their mother, with her features on their faces. Nyx never told me who the father was, and I never found out. It took a handful of weeks for these six Godlings to grow. I had been trapped within my father’s stomach for thirteen years, and only reached my full height when I was released. These six radiated a power only a Goddess born of Chaos could. Thanatos had long, black hair, similar to his mother. He wore a loose toga, with a laurel intertwined with strands of hair darker than the stygian metal. He was given my father’s scythe to wield as he met mortals in their last moments.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hypnos wore robes of blacks and greys, with etchings and designs of mortals sleeping. He would tell his brother when a mortal was close to their eternal slumber. His skin was darker than most I had seen, despite living in the depths of the underworld. His hair was a white, so vivid it hurt my eyes whenever I happened to glance at it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charon was the most mysterious of the six. He kept to himself, and was constantly shrouded in a thick robe that seemed to hide all but his arms that rowed the souls across the river Styx. He ensured that no souls wandered into her depths, and thus, was never seen in the House of Hades. And if a soul was tempted to dip their feet into the water, then Charon would accept a coin of pure gold and nothing else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Morai, or as Nyx had grown to call them, The Fates--were inseparable. They all wore the same long, black hair with eyes as dark as the night itself. Their cheeks were sunken in, no matter how much ambrosia they ate and nectar they drank. Even their clothes, woven from the finest thread that I could offer, were tattered. In their first days, they were youthful. Their skin was smooth, and their hair without flecks of grey. But as time went on, they grew older than their brothers and even their mother. All three hunched over themselves, and grey strands grew from their scalps. Even their once smooth skin started to sag. This is when they retreated to their tower, in the depths of Tartarus itself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mortals of all kinds found themselves in my domain. Most belonged in the grassy fields of Asphodel, and others, the depths of Tartarus. There was one mortal, who stepped into my domain with a laurel like my own weaved into his golden hair. He claimed that he was King Cadmus, first ruler of the Thebes kingdom. Mortals followed in his wake, and they all attested to his claims. He was a King like myself, and said that monsters bent themselves to the will of his sword. He was too renowned to fall into the depths, and too important to walk the Asphodel fields. “I wish to sleep eternally in a place of my own design.” I had no reason not to comply with his wishes. The people called him a hero among men, and soon I would realize that he was not the first. Cadmus climbed the Underworld, and discovered a place that was unlike any other. Trees seemed to grow without water and sunlight, with grasses of all different varieties that I did not put there myself. “This will be Elysium, where only the most heroic will go in death.” He stood before me in my court, with a laurel that only caused me to shudder. “So be it.” And the King of Thebes was sent to Elysium for his eternal slumber.</span>
</p>
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